The Shinobi Menace
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Cast adrift through space and time after a disastrous explosion, a single shinobi finds himself stranded in a galaxy far, far away; forced to fight a an evil even greater than Obito. Now, the mostwanted scum and villians of the galaxy have a new name to fear, a new face to dread. His name is...the Shinobi Menace! Narutoxharem? Pairing questionable. Hints of NarutoxShmi present.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well now! I've been away for quite awhile, haven't I? I've been so busy playing SWTOR that I've forgotten to write in general. I've managed to tear myself away from it for the time being to do what I love so very much; to write, of course. I promised an old friend that I would post two new stories before I overhaul the rest, and this is the last new story for the forseeable future until I get my mass of stories under control. I've decided to end my star wars craze with a more...unique crossover than forseen by most. And with that...**

**...enjoy the story!**

_"S'up. Name's Naruto. Shinobi extrodinaire, assassin for hire. Perhaps you've heard of me?"_

_~Shinobi Menace._

**Touching Down on a Dusty Planet**

Tatooine.

The suns burned down out of a cloudless blue sky, washing the vast desert wastes of the planet in brilliant white light. The resultant glare rose off the flat, sandy surface in a wet shimmer of blistering heat to fill the gaps between the massive cliff faces and solitary outcroppings of the mountains that were the planet's sole distinguishing feature.

Sharply etched, the monoliths stood like sentinels keeping watch in a watery haze.

When the ship streaked past and into the atmosphere, engines screaming roaring with ferocious hunger and relentless drive, the heat and the light seemed to shatter and the mountains themselves tremble. Because this was no simple ship that fell from the skies. It was a man. His body battered, his clothes tattered, it was a marvel he hadn't yet burned up in his return to the atmosphere. Still he plummeted, the ground rushing up to greet

It was early fall and the heat was searing. He squinted into bright sun as the dust devils swirled about him, kicking up little puffs as he jolted toward the ground. He closed his eyes at the very last instant and braced himself for the inevitable pain; the jolting agony of the incoming impact. Having awoken earlier to find himself airborne was nothing as he compared it to just how rough his landing was about to be.

Something cracked across his face and sent him sprawling. Something hard and infinitely unyielding.

It was the earth.

He slapped into the ground hard, and with zero control, broken body flipping over as he skidded onto his back. He bounced; one, two, three, four times, before the momentum of his impact drove him back to earth. His head kissed an iron-hard root, made all the worse by the thickness of his skull. Black spots swam before his eyes and left him blind. He tried to stand; and sorely regretted it as a broken rib all but drove the breath from his his lungs.

_Up, damn you! Get up!_ Swearing and spitting he got on his hands and knees and _tried_ to stand, eyes watering, ears ringing. Pushing his hands against the gravely and granite soil, he'd made it all of halfway, a half-assed oath leaving his lips before the shadow fell upon him; before he raised his gaze and realized what exactly he was looking at. He'd landed in a massive crater; packed, and flattened by the impact of his landing.

_And the ache. _It was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Raditating outward in his back, shrieking in his spine; even breating was an effort in and of itself. He couldn't quite pinpoint where it was_-or where he was for that matter_-only that there was no conceivable way he'd last long in this heat.

Unable to sustain the effort required to stand, he flopped onto his back, all semblance of calm evaporating as gazed up into the blazing sun of the seemingly endless desert. Where was he? How had he gotten here?

This field he'd landed in should have been bursting with wheat ready to be harvested. Instead, it was severe and dry. Almost as if the life itself had been sapped from the soil. It was an eerie, time consuming thought, and one he could not afford to entertain. The clouds where gathering in overhead; a sandstorm of sorts must be coming. He tried to stand; tried to force his body into some semblance of movement, in hopes of finding shelter before he was struck by the full brunt of blast. Once more, he tried to stand.

_"Fucking shit!"_

To say that he failed miserably would have been a massive understatment. He swore, then laughed; it was a harsh, bitter noise. Even in death, he'd picked up his wife's foul mouth. The thought was almost enough to drive away the sorrow subsuming every inch of him. Almost. He contemplated rising _-even tried to_- but the crushing weight of his own agony prevented him from moving so much as a millimeter. A gnawing desperation clawed at him and he frantically patted himself down to ascertain where the pain was coming from.

Flak jacket?

_Check. _

_Slacks? _

_Check._

Arms?

_Check._

Legs-_**OW!**_

Agony gripped the man; his vision dissolving into scarlet streamers as his fingers closed around the mangled mess that was his right leg; the knee had been all but pulverized during his landing. It hadn't been severed entirely-thank kami for small mercies-but his relief died when he saw the blood. He'd bleed out if he didn't do something, and soon. Raising an arm, he tore off a sleeve and in swift, hurried movements that bespoke of years of practice, proceeded to tien a tourniquet around the wounded limb. An animalllistic hiss of pain slipped through his teeth as he tied the knot tight around his thigh and bound it fast, slowing the flow of crimson vitae between his fingers but not staunching it. Within seconds the dark fabric was soaked through and through.

He could feel his vision beginning to blur, his hands growing cold.

**"God, it feels like we just got run over by the Jyuubi."** a rough voice scraped at the inside of his head, interjecting itself amidst the pain. **"Oi, you there, gaki?"** When silence prevailed, the voice tried a more familiar approach.** "C'mon Naruto, talk to me! " **Belatedly, he felt his wound begin to close; the shattered knee and broken bone spur stitching themselves back together; flowing like mlik molding across his flesh. And yet he was barely aware of it at all; as if the event were taking place outside himself and he were merely a bystander.

**"BOY!"**

Naruto found himself yanked inward, hauled into his self to confront the very creature to whom he owed his life. Kurama towered over him, long since freed from his cage, eyes narrowed in sheer disbelief at the irreconciable behavior of his host and partner. Naruto blanched at the balefire in his eyes. Despite their numerous conversations they'd held within his mind, he simply couldn't help but gawp at the sheer size of the kitsune. A very _angry_ kitsune, at the moment.

**"What in the nine hells is wrong with you?!"** The biju roared, nearly deafening the blond. "Are you trying to die?!"

"Maybe." Naruto replied, drawing a startled hiss from his tenant.

**"Not on my watch!"** The fox said, his lips drawn back in a snarl. **"Have you forgotten that if you die, I die with you?!"**

Despite himself, the man_-Naruto-_managed a laugh. "Nice to know you still care, huh, Kurama?"

The kitsune sniffed.

**"You're not getting rid of me that easily, kit."**

Konoha's last hokage chuckled, but there was no longer any mirth to be found in his smile. He no longer had anything to smile about. His village was gone. His people destroyed. The war against Obito and Uchiha Madara had dragged on for years, and though he'd seen the death of many in that time, it was ultimately the death of one that affected him the most. In the end, it was not the passing of Sakura Haruno nor the murder of Uchiha Sasuke that shook him the most. It was the loss of his wife.

_Of Tayuya._

Kabuto's Edo Tensei had brought back countless individuals from the dead. The flute-wielder had merely been one of them, captured for study, near the beginning of the war. That she happened to recall the seals to release it, to bind her soul to her now supposedly undying body, had been something of a boon. They hadn't been the best of friends at first, even less so given the manner of her captivity, but over time he'd warmed to her, and she him. As much as a foul-mouthed, ill-tempered redhead could, he supposed. She'd even married him, although her...condition prevented any chance at raising a family.

For a time, he'd been happy. He dared to think all would be well, that they might just escape the war with their humanity intact. But as Naruto soon learned, one did not undersetimate the power of the Rinnegan; nor its power to simply rip a soul from its body. Everything had gone downhill after that. Sanity included.

His desperate, last-ditch one man suicide attack against the pair had led to thus; to the warping of time and space itself, hurling him from Konoha and sending him...somewhere else. One did not carelessly hurl a bijudama against a space-time ninjutsu and expect to live to see the next sunrise. He'd meant to die with the madmen, but instead he'd wound of here. Where was _here_ exactly, anyway? He almost thought it was the Land of Wind, but no, the Juubi had reduced Gaara and his village to molten slag over the course of the war. This land, though unbearably hot, was not at all glassed, nor was it deprived of life. He could sense others in the distance even without use of his cloak, just as he could tell that this place was nowhere near Konoha.

He blinked, driving a bead of sweat from his eyes. He could feel the grains of sand at his back, intermingled with the scent of fire, the unamused and smoldering irises of heat and hell itself, come to claim his life. Hot. It was just too damn hot. What was the point in getting up? _Precisely._ There was no point. All his friends and family_-his wife!-_were dead. Best just to lay; to perish, and let all and any trace of his existence be swept away from this strange, alien world. At least then he could join them...

_"Are you alright?"_

...or not.

Uzumaki Naruto creaked open a blue iris, momentarily alarmed to find a young woman standing over him. Long strands of dark hair framed her face, all he could see against the blinding glare of the sun_-now wait just a minute!-_he must've hit his head harder than he'd thought; because he could've sworn he saw _two_ suns glaring back at him; a pair of bright, angry eyes punishing him for his desire to give up and die. Surely he was seeing things.

**"Well, hello there."** Kurama rumbled, and Naruto thought he detected a hint of satisfaction in the old kitsune's tone. **"What do we have here?" **

"Tayuya?" Naruto muttered, holding out against hope that this was a dream. But this was no dream, and his wife would never say something like 'are you alright'. And indeed, as he stared up into the twin suns of Tatooine, he gradually came to realize that this was not the foul-mouthed redhead whom he'd come to know and love. It was someone else. It was a girl.

"Um...who is Tayuya?" she asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply in kind; to ask who she was; snapped it shut again. Pushing against his elbows, he forced himself into a sitting position, took every inch of her in. Neither tall nor short, skinny nor fat, she radiated concern on an almost primal level, her dark eyes boring into him with anxiety and concern.

Her clothing was simple to the point of being rustic: dark, dusty attire, evidence of years spent in the arid atmosphere. She blinked down at him with soft, brown eyes-another reminder of the love and life he'd lost-her heart-shaped face framed by long, raven tresses, blacker than pitch. Anyone who saw her would have been hard pressed to believe that this girl-this beauty amid the sands-had survived so long in such harsh terrain. And yet, clearly, she had.

"Who're you?"

"Shmi." The girl smiled and for a moment-just a moment-it seemed to outshine the sun itself. "My name is Shmi Skywalker." A flicker of hesitation shone in her eyes. "Your leg...is it...?" Naruto was momentarily at a loss for words; unable to understand what she was alluding to. Then he realized. His leg. There was no longer any wound with which to concern himself, but the blood, from said wound still stained the sands, now dried and old.

"Oh, this?" He chortled softly. "Its nothing. Just an old wound."

"Oh, thank goodness." Her features softened in relief. "I heard an explosion so...

His stomach rumbled.

Naruto managed a foxy grin.

"Shmi, was it?"

The girl's face darkened; her cheeks dusted with the lightest flush of embarassment.

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you have anything to eat, perhance?"

* * *

_(Nine Years later)_

"Get back to work, boy!"

Grimacing at the vehement shouts of his Toydarian master at his back, Anakin Skywalker bolted into the scorching afternoon to repair his once. He was a small boy, even at his nine years of age; rather compactlly built, wiith a mop of sandy hair, blue eyes, a pug nose, and an inquisitve stare which often brought him more curses than it did blessings.

"I'm going," he grumbled beneath his breath, trudging towards the ruined wreck that, only a few hours ago, had once been a podracer. "I'm going." He'd lost another race, thanks to Sebulba's dirty tricks. The foul-mouthed Dug was infamous for doing whatever it took to win a race; oftentimes that meant cheating.

More than once he'd nearly driven Anakin into a wall; nearly cost him his life. On multiple occasions, he'd simply wrecked his pod, putting Anakin-and by definition Watto-weeks behind in repairs.

Oooh, it made him so mad! If only the dug didn't cheat! Then he wouldn't win! He kicked at the loose sand with a foot and in a rare bought of uncharacteristic anger, flung a string of curses at the twin suns of Tatooine.

_"E chu ta!"_

His defiant cry tore into the sky, echoing onward, falling silent. Anakin glared up into the suns for a moment longer until both his eyes began to burn, and, finally, tore his gaze away.

Sighing in frustration, he turned and went out the back of the shop into the kicked at the sand again as he crossed to the engines and the Pod the droids had dumped there earlier. Already his mind was working on what it would take to try and make them operable again. Even from here, across the yard, he could see the right engine was almost untouched, if he ignored the scrapes and tears in its metal skin. The left was a mess, though. And the pod was battered and bent, the control panel a shamble of sparks and circuitry.

"Fidget," he muttered softly, a spark of anger igniting in him as he drew closer, saw the extent of the damage. "Just fidget!"

He was quick and strong for his age, and was gifted in ways that constantly surprised those around him. He was already an accomplished driver in the Podraces, something no human of any age had ever been before. What's more, he was gifted with builfing skills that allowed himto put together just about anything. He was useful to Watto in both areas, and Watto was not one to waste a slave's talent.

But what no one knew about him except his mother_-and another-_was the way he sensed things. Frequently he sensed them before anyone knew they would happen. It was like a stirring in the air, a whisper of warning or a suggestion that no one else could feel. It had served him well in the Podraces, but it was also there at other times. He had an affinity for recognizing how things were or how they ought to be. He was only nine years old and he could already see the world in a way most adult never would.

For all the good it was doing him at the moment. For all the good_-wait a minute_. Anakin blinked, suddenly terribly aware that something wasn't right. It wasn't so much a sense of wrongness as it was_...out of place._ He sensed something. Someone like him. Again it wasn't a prickle of danger at his back, but rather, a sense of familiarity. Of nostalgia. A presence. He was closer now, close enough that he could hear sounds coming from the right engine, sounds that it should not be making. Anakin was close to it now, perilously close, so much so that he could even hear voices.

"Damn, _adi'ka_, you really beat this engine up while I was away." Tools scraping against steel pierced the air. "That's the last time I take a job for Jango, eh? Blasted _di'kut_ of an asshole, keeping me on Kamino for three months..."

Anakin bristled as a snatch of Mando'a_-the native language of the mandolorian people-_reached his ears. He knew only one of the legendary warriors. But that shouldn't have been possible. He shouldn't-couldn't-be here. It had been three months since he'd last seen the man board his ship and take off for parts unknown.

_There._

A matted mane of shaggy blond hair could be seen peeking out from behind the pod; and as he looked a harsh _clang_ cracked inside the engine, punctuated by an equally harsh huttese curse.

_"Fierfek!"_

Another clang, punctuated by another curse.

Restraining a grin-and a shout of delight-Skywalker crept toward his pod. There could be no denying it now, even in the slow setting suns of Tatooine. He knew that voice. Just as he knew.

"Don't even think about it, Annie."

The young Skywalker started, momentarily startled as a pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him about; bringing him face to face with the T-shaped visor of a mandalorian. There was a brief snake of dread, coiling in his stomach, before he recognized the odd patchwork of orange and black and crimson peering down at him. As ever, the blond was wrapped in heavy armor; rumor had it he'd bartered with a mandolorian some months before for the prized suit of steel he now wore. Said to be capable of reflecting even a lightsaber, nothing short of a turbolaser could hope to put any real dent in mandolorian steel-or Naruto-while you wore that suit.

"What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?" A whiskered face poked out of the pod, bright blue eyes peering out at him beneath the harsh suns of Tattooine. Uzumaki Naruto, all of thirty years old, stared back at the young racer with something akin to a frown, but not quite a smile. His expression said it all

"To not to." Annie tried to focus his gaze on the floor, but an exasperated sigh from the blond brought him up short. Naruto was smiling.

"Eh, this is what I get for trying to surprise you with new parts." he said. "Toss me that hyrdrospanner, will ya?"

"Why can't you get it?"

"Because I asked you, kid." Naruto's tone dropped a decibel in a warning; he wasn't kidding. "Now get it already! I can't hold this power coupling together forever, ya know!" Anakin shrugged and reached for the nearby kit; risking a glance for Naruto as he did.

Lacking only the distinctive T-shaped visor and helmet pf his counterpart and bristling with an array of gadgetry that would make a lesser man flinch, the blond looked equipped to take on a small army. But it was not a army that had startled Anakin; it was the man's uncanny ability to be in _two places at once. _Not even a jedi could do that; make an exact copy of themselves and send it out to do their bidding. And Naruto said he could create dozens! Hundreds, if need be!

He wasn't called the Menace for nothing. The Shinobi Menace was his real title, but Anakin had no idea just what a "shinobi" was supposed to be. He was more in awe of Naruto's many techniques and tech than he was curious about the man's myriad past.

"You _gotta_ to teach me how to do that." Anakin directed his words not to the duplicate at his back, but toward the man in the pod, uncaring as the _doppleganger_ at his back vanished, dissipating in a plume of smoke. It was a trick that no longer phased him, but one he longed to replicate as he crossed to the battered blond and handed him the requested tool. Just the thought of, being able to be in two places at once sent a silent thrill through him.

"Its not a skill I can teach." Naruto laughed as he took the tool, his bulky form dissapearing into the engine briefly, before remerging. Anakin watched the bounty hunter tinker with the pod for just another instant, and then he rose, towering over hiim in all his glory. Anakin watched with awe-filled eyes and inevitably found them straying towards the man's jetpack; the sleek, curved form of a deadly MM-5 missile jutted out of it like the horn of some acient beast.

Uzumaki Naruto grinned, whiped a gloved hand on a piece of cloth, and slung himself out of the pod. Anakin fought the urge to run to the blond, knowing the man would doubtllessly chide him for his childish behavior. If there was anyone he cared for just as much as his mother, it was this man. He'd always been around, as far back as Anakin could remember, and yet he was never a slave to Watto, unlike them.

Naruto represented the one thing he wanted more than anything else; freedom. The chance to go wherever you wanted, do whenever you wanted, however you wanted. He'd sworn up and down he would buy them both out of slavery someday; not just he and his mother one at a time, but together.

But being a bounty hunter was dangerous and expensive work; there was the upkeeep of his own tools and then the pay wasn't always steady. You were paid for a bounty, and you needed to keep _taking_ bounties if you wanted to keep getting paid. And sometimes you had to kill people. Anakin didn't think he could do that. He just wanted to stop being a slave, to be able to go anywhere he wanted with his mother, and never have to hear Watto say anything-

_"Rassa dwee cuppa, peedunkel!"_

Speak of the devil!

Anakin, startled, in spite of himself by Watto's abrupt reappearance and the fresh burst of huttese, had just enough time to watch his mentor don the helmet and dip behind the engine before Watto swooped down on him; bursting from the back of the shop and starting in on him again with a fresh burst of insulting adjectives.

"You're slacking off again, aren't you, boy?!" The toydarian shrieked, the full force of his fury focused upon Anakin once more and convinced he'd caught the boy, neglecting his duties. "Do you have any idea what your lazziness is going to _cost_ me? Do you have any idea at all! _Oba chee ka!"_

The pudgy body lurched forward with each epithet, causing Anakin to step back in spite of his resolve. Watto's bony arms and legs gestured with the movements of his body, giving him a comical appearance. He was angry, but Anakin had seen him angry before and knew what to excpect. He did not cringe or bow his head in submission: he stood his ground and took his scolding uncflinchingly. He was a slave and Watto was his master. Scoldings were a part of his life.

Besides, he wasn't alone this time.

"I shouldn't let you drive for me anymore!" All three fingers of Watto's left hand pointed at him. "That's what I should do! I should find another driver and sell you and your mother to someone else-

Scarce had he said them however, than the distinctive click of a safety being removed, answered. Naruto had since stepped out from behind the engine, and now he was armed.

Watto froze in mid-rant, alarmed to find himself staring down the long barrel of a blaster. Although Anakin could not see the blonde's face, he was certain-positive-that the shinobi-turned-mandalorian was surely smiling behind the mask.

"You!" Watto barked, blustering at the crimson-clad hunter. "What are you doing here?!"

_"Hi chuba da naga, stoopa?"_ Naruto replied in greeting, choosing a language that offered a vast array of insulting adjectives he could draw upon. "_What do you want, stupid?"_ The casual insult was almost enough to make Anakin laugh. Almost. Even so, the toydarian's reaction was priceless; his pudgy body lurched backward a few centimeters, striking one of the pod's old engines in a cfranti attempt to get that blaster out of his face.

_"Poodoo!"_

Naruto simply tracked with the movement, never taking his gun off the snarling alien. There was another _claack_ as he flicked its setting from stun to kill.

"Wait, wait!" Watto begged. "Don't shoot! I give you a discount, yes!"

Naruto growled behind the helmet.

"I don't need a discount, ya know."

For a wonderfu, terrifying moment, Anakin actually thought-dreamnt-that the mandolorian would take the shot. But although Naruto refused to lower the blaster, he did not fire.

"Stop shrieking like that." He said, directing his words to the flounding alien. "You're embarassing yourself."

Watto hauled himself back into the air with a sharp string of curses, his wings a blur of motion, beating, with such ferocity, it seemed as if they would surely fly off his lumply little body. Anakin stifled an urge to laugh as he imagined this happening. It would not do to laugh just now. Anakin knew the Toydarian would wind down shortly soon, his anger released in a manner to satisfy his need to cast blame in a direction other than his own, and things would go back to normal.

Only, this time, they didn't.

"Aah!" Watto stuttered, his courage evaporating now that he'd found himself face to face with the shinobi's arsenal. "Naruto, to what to I owe this...pleasure?" He practically _squeaked_ out the last word, as the Mandalorian jammed the blaster against his stomach, the deadly weapon pushing into the alien's pudgy abdomen with enthusiasm.

"I've got enough credits for Shmi." He said it almost casually, his words flat and baritone through the helmet, as though they were discussing the weather, and not the Skywalker's freedom. "In another year, I'll have enough for Anakin. You know what the means, right?"

Watto made a sucking noise with his lips and glared bloody red daggers at the boy. He knew what that meant. As did Anakin despite what his ignorant master thought. Freedom!

"You can't take the boy!" Watto protested, suddenly sullen. "I need him! For the races! I-ah!"

His words ended in a yelp as Naruto jerked his wrist to the right and squeezed the trigger. A blaster bolt cut across the space between them; passing dangerously close to the toydarian's midsection. Anakin was at a loss for words. That was just so...so incredibly cool! Watto, didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. The pudgy toydarian's face was drained chalk white; evidence of the close call he'd suffered.

"Too bad." Naruto shoved the now steaming blaster in the alien's face. "Ten years. That, was our deal. Time's almost up, and I've got a pretty liittle bounty coming that'll take them off your hands for good. Of course...I could always shoot you now and deactivate the bombs inside them myself. Would you prefer that, Watto?"

"Th-That won't be necessary." Watto sputtered with a fluttering of his wings, tripping over the words in his haste not to wind up dead. "So long as you pay me for them...you can have them."

"I'm so glad we understand each other, Watto-san." Naruto slung the rifle over his back with a smugness that told Anakin he was smiling beneath the helmet. Anakin held no doubts; if it came down to it, Naruto could shoot Watto dead with little to no compunction and leave with a clear concsience. He almost hoped he would. The thought frightened him. This anger he felt, it was terrifying at times.

"...hey at the very least you're being reimbursed for them." the blond was saying to Watto as Anakin came back to himself, a sly smirk in his words. "Lucky for you I don't like to shoot my employers."

"So why are you here, now, then?" Watto snarled, biting out the words. "If not to shoot me, and not to claim them, then why even be here?!"

"Just visiting my kid." Naruto replied and suddenly his hand was there on Anakin's head, mussling his hair, much to the boy's infinite embarssment. "Got a problem with that, _di'kut?"_

Watto's mouth worked as if chewing something incredily foul, his snout wrinkling over his protruding teeth. The blaster in his face, however, dissuaded him from saying anything foolish.

Anakin, meanwhile, felt his heart leap into his throat. Naruto always called him his _kid_ whenever he visited. Which was often enought for the boy to wonder as to his parentage. He wasn't quite sure if the bounty hunter really _was_ his father or not and oftentimes he didn't bother to think about it. But it was times such as these that he truly did wonder.

Was Naruto his father? They shared such similarities, he and him and the way Shmi_-his mother, still young, beautiful beyond measure-_spoke of him sometimes...

"Now, do you have that part I've asked for?" Naruto asked Watto, breaking the boy from his thoughts again. "My stabilizer's shot to hell and back and without it, I'm stuck on this mudball."

"Of course, of course!" Watto smiled a smile that looked entirely forced. "Come into the shop! We can talk business!" Anakin watched the Toydarian flutter away, stuck out his tongue when he was certain the pudgy little alien wasn't looking. More the loss for their little encounter, he doubted Watto, would do _anything_ to harm him anytime soon. He might spit and swear, but beyond that he had precious little to fear from his master anymore. Only one more year. One more year and they would hav their freedom, he and his mother. The thought nearly made him swoon.

_"Hut'uun_." Naruto spat at Watto's retreating form, his words so soft that Skywalker had to strain to hear them. Now, Anakin knew precious little of the Mandolorian language, Mando'a in some circles, but he _did_ know that word. Coward. Watto, was a coward alright, with a capital C at the very beginning!

"Bah," Naruto surprised him by removing his helmet and spitting a wad of phlegm onto the sand. "I really want to shoot him sometimes, ya know?"

Anakin couldn't contain himself anymore. This time he really did laugh. Naruto shot him a sharp glance but did nothing to try and dissuade the boy from his mirth, and for that, Anakin was most grateful. Naruto let him laugh, and it wasn't all that long before he joined him. In that moment Anakin wished more than anything that Naruto was his father.

"Alright kid, I need to go talk business for a bit." The bounty hunter sighed. "Tell your mom I'll be over later, neh?"

"Can't you teach me that trick of yours before you go?" Anakin half-begged at him, knowing the blond would refuse him, yet still desperate enough to try. Naruto regarded him intensely, sapphire eyes boring into his own as though searching for some thing or another. Whatever it was, he seemed to find it.

"Like I said,_ ad'ika, _its not something I can teach you...not easily, anyway." He paused, seemed to consider it this time. "But that has to be the millionth time you've asked me that. You really wanna learn?"

Anakin nodded emphatically.

"I thought you wanted to be a pilot." Naruto laughed. "Or a racer?"

"Those too!"

"Fine, fine." A sigh snaked past his pursed lips, twisted into something that was almost a smile. "You're a little younger than I was when I tried this technique but there shouldn't be a problem. I should warn you before we begin, though..I'm one _helll_ of a teacher!" Anakin gulped at the hunter's terrifying expression. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...

"Hunter, you coming or not?!" Watto barked from the shop, his harsh, guttural voice slicing through Anakin's thoughts like a plasma torch through durasteel. Naruto chortled softly to himself, almost as if Watto's pathetic attempt at intimidation could somehow amuse him. He crouched low to tousle Anakin's hair once more, his words deep and reverberating beyond the mask.

"We'll talk after dinner kid."

"You're staying?!" Anakin guffawed at him, his words torn somewhere between a laugh and a cry of disbelief. Naruto scoffed and donned his helmet; he was the faceless Shinobi Menace once more.

"Shmi would _murder _me if I didn't try her cooking." Anakin agreed wholeheartedly. No one cooked quite like Shmi Skywalker and her meals were always something to look forward to.

"Hunter!" Watto roared. "You come in here now or I charge double!"

Naruto straightened up, the joints in his armor creaking as he stood to his full height.

"Coming!"

Naruto chuckled as he paced away, long strides carrying him towards Watto's hut.

"See you at dinner, Annie."

"Yeah...

And as he turned to go, Anakin thought he caught a glint of silver hanging at the blonde's waist. He risked a glance over his shoulder, curiousty aroused. And then he saw it. A small, narrow cylinder just large enough to wrap a hand around. A hilt of some sort. He'd seen one before in the holovids. Recognition crashed down on him like a wave, drowning him in a sursurs of thoughts and whispers He'd seen that hilt before. He knew what it was.

A lightsaber.

That was a lightsaber. Anakin knew it far too well. But only jedi had those. Naruto wasn't a jedi...was he? If so, then why did he take on bounties? If he wasn't, then what was he doing with one in the first place? Anakin had heard tales of jed and their powerful weapons, capable of slicing through just near anything. He couldn't imagine a jedi parting with their weapon on any sort of willingness. He watched the only man he thought of as father retreat into the darkness of Watto's shack, and couldn't help but wonder:

Just who _was_ Uzumaki Naruto?

**A/N: Aaaand thus Uzumaki Naruto finds himself catapaulted into a galaxy far, far away. Onto Tatooine, to be precise. To answer the obvious questions, he met Shmi when she was a girl, a young lass, before she became pregnant with Anakin. I make no claims as to Anakin's parentage, we'll leave that, to the Force to decide. The story is coming along swimmingly, and I've plans to update this one alongside my others, for all those who try to hate on me and my fics.**

**And Naruto has a lightsaber?! Has he developed force sensitivy over the years or does he hunt jedi? I leave that, to YOU, my dear reader to, decide.**

**How will this affect the future? How will his prescence change the future?! Find out next time in...**

**...the Shinobi Menace!**

**And of course, in the ever immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review! It is your destiny!**

**R&R! =D**


	2. To be a Hunter

**A/N: Well now! I've been away for quite awhile, haven't I? I've been so busy playing SWTOR that I've forgotten to write in general. I've managed to tear myself away from it for the time being to do what I love so very much; to write, of course. I promised an old friend that I would post two new stories before I overhaul the rest, and this is the last new story for the forseeable future until I get my mass of stories under control. I've decided to end my star wars craze with a more...unique crossover han forseen by most. And with that...**

**...enjoy the story! I also reccomend you have read Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter prior to reading this chapter else you might be hopelessly baffled.**

_"Okay lets see here: yellow eyes, red skin, horns and a long-ass lightsaber. Did I mention the scary horns? Yuuup, this guy's gonna be trouble...I can feel it in my bones."_

_~Shinobi Menace (upon meeting Darth Maul prior to the events of the Phantom Menace)_

**To Be A Hunter**

Night blanketed the vast cityscape of Coruscant, cloaking the endless horizon of endless spires in deep velvet layers. Lights blazed from windows, bright pinpricks against the black. As far as the eye could see, as far as a being could travel, the city's buildings jutted from the planet's surface in needles of steel alloy and reflective glass.

Long ago the city had consumed the planet with its bulk, and now there was only one city, the center of the galaxy, the heartbeat of the Republic's rule.

A rule that some were intending to end once and for all. A rule that some despised.

Darth Sidious stood high on a balcony overlooking Coruscant, his concealing black robes making him appear as if he were a creature produced by the night. He stood facing the city, his eyes directed at its lights, at the faint movement of its air traffic, disinterested in his apprentice, Darth Maul, who waited to one side. Had he focused upon his apprentice, he might've noticed the fury the young zabrak was currently experiencing.

Because Darth Maul was furious.

The dark side wrapped itself around him like a second skin; clinging to his torso in a writhing nexus of hate and fury, itching to lash out at the first available target. A target found in himself, in his own self-doubt and inability. The zabrak assasin was irked beyond all semblance of tranquility; he longed for the chance to seek the one who'd first instilled this rage in him, take his throat in hand, and squeeze the life from him. The man of this man, you ask?

The Shinobi Menace.

One mightve thought it mere coincidence when he first encountered the hunter in pursuit of Lorn Pavan. Maul did not believe in coincidences. Perhaps it was a test of the dark side that first placed this foe in his path; this immovable man wrapped in a suit of mandolorian steel, armed with weapons ranging from a blaster cannon, a wrist-mounted flamethrower to a lightsaber.

Maul would've thought him a former jedi, had he not displayed zero aptitude in ths force. The bounty hunter, upon identyfing himself as the Shinobi Menace-recently returned from Kamino-made no use of the fierce offense form of Ataru, nor did he try to rely upon the reserved 'wait it out' defense of Soresu. He simply...attacked.

Even for Maul, trained killer as he was, it was too much. It was as if he no longer cares whether he lived or died; like a black demon had taken over his soul, and devoted every aspect of his being to killing. Before Maul knew it, he'd lost an arm to the maddened mandolorian, an arm now replaced by a prosthetic.

It had been a nightmare. No, scratch that. His life had been a nightmare, from the moment he first met the menace...

* * *

_(Flashback)_

_"Oi oi, what do you think you're doing here, di'kut?"_

_That voice, and the distinctive snap-hiss of a lightsaber were Maul's only warnings. And even then, they nearly came too late for him to do anything about it. An emerald blade sliced through the permacrete-where he'd been standing a moment before the sudden assault-bifurcating the solid stone with a single sweep._

_Maul cartwheeled backwards, anxious to put distance between himself and this unseen assailant. His mind was racing, even as he struggled to come to terms with the sudden attack. Why hadn't he been able to sense him? He whirled, searching for another attacker, and, finding none, began to wonder if there had been one at all. But there was none. The eerie thrum of the second saber was gone and h__e saw only his prey, the silver-haired padawan, Darsha Assant gawping back at him. She clearly hadn't expected the abrupt intervention, either. _

_"Still can't see me?" The voice taunted, resonating from the empty warehouse. And try as he might, Maul could not. There was nothing there for him to sense; it was as if the being were actively masking its prescence in the force...or perhaps the truth was it simply did not exist in the force? Was it a droid, then? No, that voice had been far too human._

_Maul growled, scanning his surroundings for any sign of disturbance._

_There._

_The air between him and the jedi padawan seemed to blur ever so slightly, as if a giant hand had reached out to pluck at the atmosphere itself. And then, there he was. The stealth field dissipated with a sibilant hiss, to reveal the slim, armoured form of a mandolorian warrior. Clutched in his hand, the hilt/pommel of a lightsaber. He stood at least a full head taller than Maul, his T-shaped visor betraying nothing of the man lurking behind the helm._

___"Mando'ad draar digu __Jetii'kad_ ." He spoke in fluent mandolorian, and Maul silentlly thanked himsellf for the language lessons Sidious had drilled into him all those years ago. "A mandolorian never forgets the sound of a lightsaber." He turned to regard the padawan-leaving himself open to attack-but Maul couldn't bring himself to strike. It was the perfect opportunity, and yet, something held him back. He felt only dread when he looked at this man, finally feeling his prescence in the Force. It was as if he were a giant knot in the flow of reality; his very existence a giant boulder around which life itself was forced to flow, for there could be no brooking passage through him.

_Just what was this man?_

___"__Copaani gaan, _Jetii?" The man rumbled in his native language.

___Darsha jumped, her brow crinkling in confusion, baffled by the language barrier. The warrior laid a hand upon her shoulder, his helmet inclining a mere fraction of an inch as he awaited her response._

___"B-Beg your pardon?"_

___Something akin to a sigh resounded beyond the man's helm. He took his hand away from her shoulder, knocked it against his helm inb exasperation._

_____"Haar'chak_." He muttered, cursing himself. Damn it.

___"I said, you need a hand?" ____The mandolorian returned his gaze to maul, and something seemed to click into place behind that black visor. "With this one. ______"Dar'jetii." Sith. He was speaking to **him,** Maul realized. This man knew he was sith. He swept his lightsaber up into his hand and ignited it on instinct; both blades sprining from either end. He would not let them live. Either of them. The padawan edged forward in return, only for the mandolorian to push her backward._

_______"K'uur_!" The commando barked at her. Hush!

_"Might wanna stay out of this one, Cyar'ika." The hunter beckoned the padawan back. "I don't think you'll be a match for him as you are." He flicked his wrist and the lightsaber came ablaze once more, casting him in its eerie green pallor. He settled in a stance Maul didn't recognize, one leg before the other, the weight on his back foot. Maul hesitated. Not because the mando had called the padawan "sweetheart" but because the force was screaming at him; telling him to run, to flee, to get as far an away from this man as possible._

_Maul carefully ignored this fear and turned it into anger, and anger into hatred. His golden eyes blazed with the power of the dark side, empowering him with its might._

_"Just thought you should know the name of your killer, sith." The armored man laughed. "They call me the Shinobi Menace."_

_"They're going to call you **dead** once I've finish with you." Maul hissed, bringing his saber-staff blade to bear. Odd. He felt no fear from the Menace; only the resolve to kill. It was a refreshing feeling; to face a warrior as devoted to death as he. It was almost a shame he had to kill him._

___"Ne shab'rud'ni dar'jetii ..._

_The mandolorian cackled and suddenly his body began to glow gold beneath the armour. Maul frowned, reluctant to press on the attack until he was certain of what he was seeing. The man's armor seemed to melt and become part of the golden glow, his opaque visor becoming transparent; reflecting the cruel, crimson eyes within. His mouth curved upward in a smug smirk, and it was only then that Maul understood the weight of his words._

___"Dont understimate me, little sith."_

_With a war cry that could put the rancors' of Dathomir to shame, the golden mandolorian brought his blade to bear and flung himself forward..._

_(End Flashback)_

Maul shuddered at the memory.

Whatever ability it was, it had proved too much for Maul. Though he'd manage to strike down Pavan and escape with the sith holocron-and his life-he'd been forced to leave the wounded padawan and her hunter friend behind. It was either that or risk certain death. And Maul, devoted to the Sith way though he was, hadn't been about to risk his life over a single padawan and the hunter just for the sake of pleasing his master.

Now, he regretted the decision.

Sorely regretted it, as he awaited his master's inevitable response to his words. His yellow eyes glimmered with aggravation and anger as he waited for his inevitable punishment.

"I sense fear in you, apprentice." Sidious's words were barely a whisper, barely audible over the winds of the Coruscant sky, yet Maul heard them nontheless. "Why is this, Maul?"

Maul seethed.

"You speak true, my master." He inclined his head, the mosaic of his face betraying none of the humiliation he felt. "Due to my fault, the jedi are aware of us."

"Perhaps." Sidious demurred. "Perhaps not. They may be aware of you, however." The younger sith fought the urge to snarl at this, the reminder of his failure.

Not only had the hunter managed to confound him on Coruscant some months before, he'd even managed to wrest the padawan Darsha Assant from his grasp, thus informing the Jedi of the remergence of the Sith. But the Trade Federation blockade was already nearly in place, his master assured him, so nothing of true value had been lost.

Maul disagreed. He had been shamed by the Menace. His pride had suffered a blow, one he swore to strike in return at the first opportunity. He would find the Menace and make him suffer, as none had ever suffered before. He would find his friends and family, _everything he held dear_ and he would _kill_ them. Make him relive the same shame and humiliation he had thought to experience.

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

"..."

Darth Sidious stared out into the lights of Coruscant as though he could somehow divine his answer among them. Maul was impatient. He wanted vengeance! They gained nothing from waiting! Already they were exposed thanks to the Menace, and he was hungry to repay the debt he owed the hunter for the loss of his right arm.

"You will find this Menace, and you will eliminate him." Sidious advised softly, the cowl sheltering the smile of his face. "If he is truly such a threat as you say, then we cannot allow him to interfere with our plans." Maul fought the urge to roar in sheer triumph. Instead, he exhaled sharply. Satisfaction permeated his voice.

"I will have vengeance, then."

"You shall." Sidious answered.

"So shall it be, my master." Maul bowed and turned to leave.

"And Maul?"

Sidious's words rooted him.

"I will not tolerate failure a second time."

Maul scarcely even heard the words. He was already stalking away, already making plans for the future. There would be no failure this time. He _would_ succeed. He _would_ be prepared. He would find this Menace and he would kill him...

...and he would relish every moment of it!

* * *

_(Meanwhile on Tatootine)_

"Oh, that smells good."

Anakin looked up at the exact instant that he heard someone step through the door of his home. _Naruto?_ That voice caused him to cease his work upon See-Threepio's left eye and hazard a glance to the dusty archway, as though he could somehow confirm the speaker's identity merely by listening in on the sudden conversation.

As the boy listened, he could make out the distinctive thud-thud-thud of boots coming from the main room. He risked a wry glance at the corners of his own room; adobe walls, whitewashed and scrubbed, glimmered softly in a mix of storm-clouded sunlight admitted through small, arched windows and a diffuse electric glow from ceiling fixtures. A sandstorm had sprun up after he Watto had sent him home for the evening and he'd begun to fear the worst for the mandolorian. Apparently, he had been wrong to fear.

Anakin cocked an ear and subsuquently winced as he heard something shatter; his mother must've dropped that plate she'd been cleaning moments ago.

"Naruto!" He heard Shmi Skywalker exclaim, her words caught somewhere between a gasp and a sob. Anakin dithered just a moment longer, uncertain as to whether he should listen or make himself _-inevitably-_his curiousiity won the day. Stepping so softly-slowly-so as not to make himself heard, the young Skywalker rounded the bend and peeked around the corners of his room. Finding no one, he crept toward the kitchen, where he finally found Naruto...

...and his mother in the man's arms. Her face remained buried against his chestplate, her arms wrapped around his chest, in a fierce embrace. She was speaking to Naruto -saying something- but her words remained muffled against the hunter's chest and were lost to Anakin stifling any chance he had of deciphering her words.

The same could not be said of Naruto. He'd discarded his helmet; Anakin could see it upon the countertop and without it, the mandolorian's words were as plain as day to him:

"Annie's getting so big." Naruto was murmurring to his mother. _"Cyar'ika,_ you should let me train him already."

"Don't you 'sweetheart' me." Shmi surprised Anakin, both by understanding the mando'a language and by extricating herself from his arms. "I don't want that kind of future for him."

_"Gedet'ye?"_

"Saying 'please' won't help your case any." She shook her head emphatically. "He deserves a better life than that of a bounty hunter or a-oh, I'm sorry." Her dark eyes softened as Naruto cringed. "I didn't mean it like that."

"It's nothing." Naruto was quick to mollify her. "I won't train him if you don't want me to-OW!" He winced, as she touched at his shoulder, flinching in pain. His face screwed up in visible agony as though she'd touched a burning brand to his right arm, although she'd done nothing of the sort.

"Its nothing." He promised at her worried expression. "Just an old wound I picked up on a job...

"Mom?"

"Annie!" His mother lurched backward in surprise-was she blushing?-almost as if she were ashamed of herself.

Uzumaki Naruto grinned back as he caught sight of his young protoge, whiskered cheeks dimpling in a smile, hands reaching to muss the boy's sandy hair.

Naruto demurred with a soft smile,

Shmi Skywalker fixed him with a withering glare.

"Dinner's nearly ready."

Naruto made a noise that Anakin acquianted to acqueiscence and took his seat at their dusty little table. His knees knocked against it, nearly sweeping the food clear off the table-had his hand not shot out to snatch back the plate at the last instant. Shmi shot him a withering look and the blond offered a sheepish grin; as sheepish as a someone of his stature could manage.

Over the years, his mother hadn't seemed to...well, age in the covential sense. Her movements were as fluid and graceful as they'd been when he was a babe; a fact that Naruto seemed content to comment on whenever he visited. Indeed, Shmi's face lacked the lines and creases of most women her age although her eyes always seemed brighter somewhow when Naruto was nearby.

"So how did you get that blade?"

The Menace waggled an eyebrow in bemusement.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes!"

Anakin watched in eager earnest as the hunter steepled his fingers and leaned forward, blue eyes glimmering with intent. He thought he caught the softest of smiles from his mother out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, I once met a Jedi Knight on a bounty." Naruto began slowly, weaving the tangled tapestry of his tale with an ardrour and enthusiasm only a true hunter could produce. "Great man. Impressive man. A finer one, I've never seen. Turns out, he and I were after the same target. Some Corellian lowlife; wanted for acts of terrorism against the Republic and crimes upon humanity, blah-blah-blah. That wasn't important to me." He held up a gloved finger, emphasizing his point.

"What _was_ important was this; the jedi-did I mention he was a master?-wanted him alive. I didn't. The contract _specifically_ stated the bounty was for his death, and his head to be mounted on Jabba's mantle.

"I knew where he was, but the jedi...he was a stubborn one. Wouldn't let me find him or kill him until _he_ had the chance to question him. Of course, I wasn't about to let him abscond with my bounty-right under my nose, either. It was an impasse. Eventually I drew on him and our little disagreement turned...violent."

"So you killed him?" Anakin felt his heart sink into his stomach. It must've shown on his face; because the hunter was swift to deny this claim.

"Of course I didn't kill him!" Naruto admonished, disbelief colouring his words and twisting at his face. "Do you have any idea just how difficult it is to _fight_ a jedi, Annie? Like trying to get a kowakkiian monkey lizard to shut up, that's how! And you can frget about killing one!"

Anakin felt himself heave a heavy sigh; felt relief crest over him in a wave of understanding. He knew on a fundamental level that a bounty hunters often killed their quariies in the hunt; just as he knew Naruto rarely ever accepted low-paying bounties unless they involved a particularly corrupt or wicked indiividual. It was part of the reason he'd garnered the title of Menace in the Outer Rim. Once he was on the hunt he was just that; a menace

to the cruel and a vigilant knight to the kind. Those a a

"Then another problem crops up. This Corellian guy? He's under the protection of a nasty old hutt back on Nal Hutta. And my employer wants him. Badly.

"So we end up storming the palace, defeating the guards, causing chaos in general. And by the time we find the kriffing little bastard, he's locked himself in a cell to keep us out. Apparently, he doesn't know who he's messing with. Anways I reach out rip the door off its hinges, and that's the end of that."

"So what happened next?" Anakin found himself hanging on every word. "What did you do?"

_"Do?" _Naruto scoffed. "I hauled him out of there and shoved a blaster in his face, of course!" He continued his tale with a sly smile all his own, "So now he's making noises of panic and pleading that I hardly notice anymore-

"Naruto!" Anakin blinked as Shmi admonished the blond.

"Anyways, he's pissing in his pants and begging the jedi for mercy. _Please, don't let him kill me, master jedi!_ He's offering us everything he owns: credits, his fortune...and then he makes the mistake of offering me the one thing you should never _ever_ offer up...

* * *

(Flashback)

"...Menace, I have a beautiful daughter...

Naruto growled, blue eyes narrowing to bloody slits behind the T-shaped visor of his helmet. Arden Dine, his target, the man who'd dared offer him his only daughter, was a portly, heavyset man, balding, and somewhere in his mid-to-late forties. One mistake too many had first placed the Menace on his trail some months before, and he'd been a hard one to find. Their chase had led them through the underbelly of Coruscant, the lush landscape of Corellia, and now the seedy back alleys of Nal Hutta herself.

After three months-and some bit of assistance-the Menace, had finally cornered his prey. Now, here Arden Dine lay; his back pressed up against the wall, his collar trapped in the inescapable grip of a mandalorian crush gauntlet, the barrel of a blaster staring down his face with cold lethality.

Arden was a man who sweated heavily under stress or duress, and it was with a cold cruelty that Naruto savoured his sweat soaked terror as he stared down the barrel of the gun.

His clothes were soaked with sweat, face slick with presperation, chest heaving, as the menacing mandolorian hauled his pudgy body up off the floor. Mere moments ago, he'd been making him offers all the way back to Coruscant, promising a starship, a planet anything to survive. Now, he'd offered his daughter.

"Never use your kids, scumbag. _Never."_

He shouldn't have said that. Now Naruto was angry, and he didn't often get angry anymore. In that instant the only thing he wanted to do, was kill. To end the life of this feeble little wretch, squirming within his grasp. He'd never had a family himself. Always wanted one, yet never had the chance to raise one. And yet, this man offered up his blood, kin, his _daughter_ without so much as second thought? Mistaking his silence for contemplation,

"Please, Menace, I'm sure she'll satisfy you-

_"Chubba!"_ Naruto hissed in huttese, the loose term for _"You!"_ His helmet barreled forward to strike the man hard in the face, splitting his skull, his head lolling to one side, mouth hanging open. Naruto promptly shoved the barrel of his blaster into the gaping orifice, flicked the setting from stun to kill, tightened his finger on the trigger-

"Wait."

A strong hand clasped his wrist through the armour, locking his mucles in place, preventing him from pulling the trigger. The Shinobi Menace bit back a growl, his helmeted head turning marginally to regard the terrorist's unlikely saviour. It was the on the man's defender.

"If you know what's good for you, Qui-Gon, you'll let go right now." His words were harsh, biting in their tone. He'd deigned to use the jedi's name for once, but make no mistake; if this man didn't let go _right now_ he'd be joining this di'kut, dead, on the floor. Naruto had yet to kill a jedi -up close or otherwise- but in his present state he had no qualms about doing just that without so much a second thought. It was only the memory of their previous encounter that stayed his free hand from going for the holdout blaster in his sleeve, or turning the wrist-mounted flamethrower on the jedi.

The man's appearance certainly didn't help him any.

Qui-Gon was a tall, powerfully built man with prominent, leonine features. His beard and mustache were close-cropped and his hair was worn long and tied back. His face stood pinched in concentration; evidence of the substantiall effort required to restrain the younger man; to prevent him from pulling the trigger and ending the Corellian's life.

Naruto allowed his gaze to drift, his HUD scanning for any sign of weakness in the jedi's stance. There were none.

Tunic, pants, and hooded robe were typically loose-fitting and comfortable, yet the longer he looked the more they seemed to swirl with an unseen wind; the unnoticed breeze pushing the sash back just enough to reveal the cylindrical hilt dangling at its side, just out of view but within easy reach. Naruto watched his hand brush across the hilt; not in warning, but in that age-old gesture which warned of danger. He felt the thin threads of the Force pluck at his mind; realized the man was trying to calm him, and stubbornly resisted.

"Let me interrogate him first." the jedi argued.

"Let me _kill_ him first." Naruto retorted.

Qui-Gon's sharp blue eyes fixed on him.

"Don't try it."

Naruto whipped his blaster around in the same instant that Qui-Gon ignited his lightsaber. In the split second that it took for him to bring the blade up and then down he remembered the man's mandolorian armor. His lightsaber skittered off the arm of the hunter's gauntlet, drawing sparks and leaving a blistering welt, but leaving the hunter very much unharmed. Qui-Gon had less than an instant to see, recognize, and proccess this before he felt the barrel of a blaster press against his forehead, effectively ending their standoff.

Naruto's eyes seemed to gleam behind the T-Shaped visor of his helmet. His words trickled out in a sibilant hiss; little more than a whisper in the palace dungeons.

_"Dopo mee gusha, peedunkey?"_

You feeling lucky, punk?

Qui-Gon was not feeling very lucky at the moment.

Already the mandolorian had surprised him once before during their last encounter; it was as if here were _dense_ in the force itself. Almost incapable of using it, yet nothing short of Qui-Gon's greatest efforts could move him more than a few feet. And even then it wasn't much. Trying to push him away was like trying to move a mountain; while his own force-enhanced reflex enabled him to outpace the blonde's reactions, it was only by the barest of breaths.

However...

Just because he couldn't influence him, didn't mean he couldn't influence events _outside_ of him. An errant glance quickly confirmed the location of the door the hunted had thrust aside earlier. From there it took precious little concentration for one of Qui-Gon's calibre to send the rusted iron hinges hurtling toward the bounty hunter's back.

Naruto staggered forward half a step, and then the jetpack kicked in, sending him screaming upward, and out of harms way toward the ceiling. Qui-Gon watched him alight on a nearby ledge, eyes narrowing to beady slits.

"That was low." He hissed.

Qui-Gon shrugged as the latter leapt down from his perch, his boot landing solidly in Arden's stomach. The man produced a soft wheeze as the breath rushed out of him. For a moment it looked as though the mandolorian might shoot him. Finally, a low hiss left his lips.

"Lets make a deal." he offered. "I let you interrogate him...and you give me your lightsaber in exchange."

The jedi shook his head.

"You know I cannot part with my weapon."

Menace bit out a single phrase in his native language.

"_Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade…_"

(End flashback)

"_Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade…_"

"What does that mean?" Anakin asked the hunter, unable to understand the flowing syllables. Naruto grinned at him, a soft twinkle in his starry-blue eyes.

"It means don't mess with mandalorians, Annie." Naruto answered, picking at his food with a fork. "Anyway, I caved toward the end and let the jedi interrogate him. Then, instead of killing Arden, I freeze the _dik'ut_ in carbonite and cart him back too the ship. Guess the jedi rubbed off on me.

"That still doesn't explain how you got the lightsaber." Anakin pointed out.

"I'm getting to that!" The hunder protested sullenly. "

"Turns out he was so impreased with me after all," Naruto finshed, "That he gave me this." He patted the hilt at his belt, fingers tracing over the intricate designs etched into the handle and hilt. "His lightsaber." The confirmation that this was indeed a _lightsaber_ and

"Can I see it?"

"You really wanna see it?" Naruto chortled.

"Yes!"

"Naruto," Shmi's voice was full of reproach.

"I'll be careful." Without another word he pushed himself away from the table and pressed the trigger.

The lightsaber sprang forth like a genie from a bottle; giving life to a brilliant blade that leveled out after only a few meters, creating a sword of pure energy. Naruto held it aloft, skin swathed in emerald glow; the blade casting a ghostly green palor across the confines of the hut.

He performed a few practice swings for emphasis, the blade rumbling like thunder as he twisted and turned the hilt. Anakin was left in awe, watching as the hunter effortlessly bent the weightless weapon, to his will. Here was a sword he'd learnt to wield only after hours of long, painful practice.

"Wow!" Anakin gawped. "That's...just...wow!"

The hunter shut down the blade and hazarded a grin at the boy.

"I'm glad you like it, Annie. Now, why don't you show me that protocol droid you've been working on after dinner?"

"Can I show you now?" Anakin casting a pleading glance at his mother, practically begging to be excused from the table.

"Oh, alright." Shmi relented. "Just this once."

"Awesome!" Anakin all but bolted from his seat, there one moment, gone the next; darting around the bend and out of sight.

"So how did you _really_ get that lightsaber?" Shmi asked as soon as her son disappeared into the machine-shop that served as his room. She knew Naruto _far_ too well to believe that a jedi would merely hand over their most prized of possesions to him, merely on a whim.

The hunter lasted all of three seconds beneath her piercing gaze. Then he crumbled.

"C'mon Shmi-chan, don't you believe me?"

_"Naruto."_

There was a long, painful moment of silence.

"I...may have won it in a game of sabacc." Naruto admitted sheepishly once he was sure Anakin was safely out of earshot and certain not to overhear. "I also may or may not have cheated."

"Naruto!" Shmi swatted him on the wrist. "So that whole story about meeting a jedi was a lie, then?"

"Not all of it." The blond chuckled as he watched the boy work on his secret pod. "It really was true...right up until the part where we went our separate ways. Turns out he didn't have much of a poker face. Hell, if the rest of the jedi were like him, we just might get along."

"Naruto...

"What?!" The hunter protested. "Its just a memento! That's all! Not like I'll ever see the guy again...eh?" He reached down to pat the hilt, only to realize it was gone. It took him less than a second to discern where it had gone...and who was currently trying to take it apart and ressamble it again while he pretended to activate See-Threepio.

_"Haar'chak_!" Naruto spat. "Damnit! That's not a toy, Annie!"

* * *

_(Light years away)_

Light years away, Qui-Gon Jinn, aboard a republic vessel bound for Naboo, in the midst of carefully constructing what would prove to be his new lightsaber, sneezed. The sudden sound drew the attention of his padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. The learner of twelve years couldn't help but to notice his master's sudden exhalation and felt inclined to comment on it.

Though safely in hyperspace and en route to their diplomatic envoy to the Trade Federation, he couldn't shake this sense of unease. Nor could he seem to recall just where his master had lost the lightsaber. There had been that time when they had been on separate missions some months ago, but he was almost certain his master had returned-with his lightsaber-at that time. So when had he lost it?

"Master,why are you constructing a new lightsaber?" he asked.

Qui-Gon was silent for a very long time, as though searching the force for the proper explanation. When he finally replied, it was quiet and stoic...and very much a lie.

"I lost my old one in a furious duel."

* * *

**Omake:**

_"I'd like to test your midichlorian level as well, just to be sure."_

_Naruto shrugged and removed a glove. He really didn't see the point in this, but what the hell?_

_"Whatever you say, jedi."_

_Within seconds the skin was pricked, the blood scanned. Qui-Gon blinked in surprise at the reading and showed the sample to his apprentice_

_"It's OVER NINE THOUSAND!"_

_Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow at his apprentice._

_"I'm sorry, master," Obi-Wan said, somehow managing to look both abashed and embarassed at the same time, "The force just wanted me to say that, for some reason."_

**A/N: Aaaand thus we find some answers. Naruto and Maul arent excatly the best of buddies, and Naruto's little harem is already starting to grow. But is he the father of Anakin, or is he just being friendly with Shmi? And the scene/idea with Qui-Gon came from a reviwer/ PM'er whose name escapes me at the moment. I sincerely hope u enjoyed it and with that, I must depart for work!**

**How will this affect the future? How will his prescence change the future?! Find out next time in...**

**...the Shinobi Menace! How you enjoyed the omake!**

**And of course, in the ever immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review! It is your destiny!**

**R&R! =D**


	3. Reminisce and Repair

**A/N: Well now! I've been away for quite awhile, haven't I? I've been so busy playing SWTOR that I've forgotten to write in general. I've managed to tear myself away from it for the time being to do what I love so very much; to write, of course. I promised an old friend that I would post two new stories before I overhaul the rest, and this is the last new story for the forseeable future until I get my mass of stories under control. I've decided to end my star wars craze with a more...unique crossover than forseen by most. I've also made a slight change regarding as to who Naruto was with in his with that...**

**...enjoy the story! **

**I STRONGLY reccomend you have seen the Phantom Menace prior to reading this chapter else you may be hopelessly baffled. Also the circumstances/events regarding Anakin's birth have been modified, to preserve the sake of continuity in this story...though I still won't say if Naruto is his father or not in this one!**

_"Weeeeeell...look who the womp rat dragged in."_

_~Shinobi Menace (upon meeting an old friend)_

**Reminisce and Repair**

_"Why did you let me die, asshole?"_

Naruto lurched upright and out of the dream, instantly awake and on high alert. Heart pounding, pulse racing, he nearly cried out as his mind snapped back to the world of the living, barely checking himself at the last instant. Just a dream, he told himself, fists balling beneath the blankets. It was just a dream. An old, cold, painful spectre of the past, recurring on occassion, one that should hold no bearing upon his future.

Only it did. He was certain. Tayuya's and Konan's deaths kept haunting him. Mocking him. The former's death at the hands of Madara, and the latter at Obito's, had left an indellible mark upon his pysche. At times he could almost hear their voices.

_"I miss you, darling..._

Sometimes he could even see them.

Blue eyes cut a swathe across the room, fixating upon a solitary figure, hunched down against the wall. He knew her azure hair and amber eyes without looking, just as he knew her hands were cradling the gaping hole in her slightly swollen stomach. He bit down on his bile, teeth sinking into his lower lip until he tasted a flinty, metallic taste upon his tongue. Blood. His blood.

_"Why won't you look at me?"_

Naruto shook himself heavily, refusing to look the mortally wounded woman-his former fiance-in the eye. Of course he wouldn't look at her. To do so would be to acknowledge his own madness. Part of him knew why he was seeing this. At the climax of the battle, he'd fallen under the influence of the Moon's Eye Plan_-albeit briefly-_with its eternal Tsukiyomi. Although he'd broken free before the battle's end thanks to Kurama's aid, one did not simply rip themself out of an all-powerful genjutsu without some sort of side effect suffered in the end. Perhaps that was why he'd been fool enough to shove a full-powered bijudama at them.

In Naruto's case, he believed he was slowly losing his mind. It was slow, gradual. Inexorable. He saw those who weren't there, was visited by haunting dreams, a maddening case of paronia, and of course there were the voices. Although, he stubbornly believed those were of his mind's own creation, not the dementia.

_"Traitor."_

He almost started when Tayuya's hazel gaze appeared before him, bissecting his thoughts. Almost, but not quite. The redhead was glaring bloody red daggers at him, her pale dead face mere centimeters from his own, twisted into a rictus of fury. He took some small solace in the fact that this figment of his imagination so resembled the original; that she and her cohorts only ever haunted him at night. As horrible as they were, he could tolerate them at night. He didn't think he had the strength to ignore them in broad daylight.

_"Why did you have to let me die?"_ She hissed at him. Her breath smelled like death in his nose; tasted like rot on his tongue. _"You were standing right there, and you didn't even try to save me."_ Naruto, said nothing as 'Tayuya' railed against him, sitting silently by, whilst she assailed him with endless accusations. He knew by now that there could be no pleasing her, no matter what he said. He'd given up on that long ago. Now, he no longer bothered to listen. Sighing, he allowed his eyes to drift shut, drawing in the natural energies, surrounding him. For all her arid atmosphere, Tatooine sustained a surprisingly large amount of energy for him to draw upon. Flushing his veins with it seemed to be the only way to banish the visions and the voices sometimes.

"You never loved me." She spit in his face. "Not then, certainly not now, you no-good two-timing piece of shit-

**!**

_"Begone."_ Naruto hissed eyes bursting open; his lids dusted with orange, his orbs flashing gold. 'Tayuya' flinched as though she'd been struck; still he darent relent. He glared bloody red daggers at the apparition of his wife until she finally crumbled; fading to black, as though she'd never been there to begin with at all.

With a supreme effort of his unquenchable will, the former shinobi pushed himself back to the present and focused firmly upon a portion of the wall, until he was absolutely certain the ghost of his past was indeed gone. Only then did he dare to exhale.

_Just a dream just a dream just a dream just a dream..._

He checked the nightstand for his blaster, and upon finding it; immediately stabbed a hand beneath his pillow for the kunai, fumbling with the pillowcase for the deadly dagger. Then _and only then _when he finally felt the cool grip of his father's cherished knife between his fingertips, did he take a breath and check his surroundings, reminding himself where he was.

Who he was with.

**"Oh, now he remembers."** Kurama's voice reverberated deep within his mind, laced with slumber, and perhaps just a sliver of amusement. Naruto forcibly bit back a reply of his own; he knew his tenant-turned-partner still enjoyed getting the occasional rise out of him. Ordinarily, he didn't much enjoy it, but tonight, it served as further prove that he was indeed awake and would not be all that haunted by the ghosts of his past tonight.

Night had fallen upon Tatooine. Her twin suns having long since set, a curtain of velvet darkness lay draped across upon the desert. All was quiet. All was still. Somewhere in the distance, a krayt dragon's roar resounded through the desert, its deep howl sending silent shivers shooting down his spine. Naruto sighed, the tension draining from his features. All was well.

"Naruto...

Shmi Skywalker lay beside him, head nestled into his chest, the smooth dip of her waist nestled oh-so subtly against his own. Her long, dark hair, normally bound back behind her head lay across her back in loose layers, obscuring her nakedness where the think blankets could not. He touched a hand to her cheek, and Shmi stirred against him, the softest smile wreathing the tan features of her face. She was as beautiful now as she was the day they'd met. Maybe more.

**"Suuuuure," **Kurama goaded, **"And the fact that you've given her a few throbbing chakra injections had _nothing_ to do with it, right?"**

_'Oh, shut up.'_

Naruto bit back a sigh. Shmi had been a balm for his soul when he'd first found himself stranded here. She'd tought him how to speak basic, how to handle even the most complex of blasters. And then he'd discovered the awful truth. Shmi was a slave. She had no life, no freedom to call her own. He would soon learn that slavery was a welcome and accepted practice upon Tattooine, and to free any slave-especially one as sought after as Shimi-required a large sum of money-something called credits- to free her, as Watto had so bluntly informed him. Back then...well, Naruto hadn't so much as a credit to his name, and the toydarian certainly wasn't going to free Shmi on goodwill alone.

Seeing no way to earn her escape at the time, he'd resolved to free her the only way he knew how and well...that hadn't gone over well. They'd gone only a few paces from the homestead before Shmi told him about the transmitter insider her; that it would detonate if she tried to escape. Despondent and left with little choice in the matter, Naruto had resolved to buy Shmi from Watto; that too, had been the undertaking of a lifetime, one that might've been downright impossible, where it not for his...talent.

Naruto, despite all protests to the contrary, was a killer. Years at war had stripped away his naivete, leaving him with a stone-cold resolve to attain victory by any means neccessary. While he did not relish the idea of taking a life, he was willing to end one if that was what it took to get the job done. One could not become a shinobi and be expected to _spare_ a life in the line of duty, not the life of one who'd stab you in the back at the first opportunity.

He began, by taking odd jobs for various individuals, made a name for himself slaughtering sand people, but it wasn't until he learned to pilot a starship-and finally scrounged up enough creds to purchase one-that he actually considered the life of a bounty hunter for himself. Of course, few wanted to risk hiring a rookie, but there was good money to be made, at the best of times. During those jobs, it was the memory of Shmi and Anakin-the boy who just might be his son-that kept him going.

It would be sometime later before he met Jango Fett and became a true hunter. A mandolorian. _That _had been fun. And by fun Naruto meant excruciatingly painful and frustrating. Back then, the man had taken all his tricks head on and matched him not blow for blow; but with strategy and cunning. Where it not for the powers of his own jinchuuriki cloak, he would've certainly lost his life that day. Who would've thought there was a material that could actually prove _resistant_ to his rasengan and rasenshuriken?

Shmi might've made him knowledgable in the ways of the galaxy, but it was ultimately Jango_-and five years of pure hell!-_that made him into a true huntsman. From thence, Naruto resolved only to hunt on _his_ terms; to seek out wicked individuals with bounties on their heads. Thus the Shinobi Menace was born. Suddenly, he was 'on the grid' as Jango would've said. No longer did potential employers thumb their noses_-or what passed for noses in some cases-_at him and his offers; nay, clients were scrambling for him to hunt down their targets.

And hunt them he did. From the core worlds to the outer rim, not a single target escaped him. He was named the Menace; for he was a menace to his prey, as inescapble as the dread they'd feel once they realized he was on their trail. Only death or capture awaited. Sometimes the former was preferable to the latter.

One thing would eventually lead to another as he tracked down bounty after bounty. Four years later...

...and here he would find himself today. To this very day, he still wasn't entirely sure if Anakin was his son...or not. Shmi refused to elaborate whenever he broached the subject, and although he had his suspicions, he was reluctant to press her now, just as he'd been when he'd first discovered she was pregnant. Now that had been a shocker.

Still, the resemblance was there. Sandy blond hair, bright blue eyes, that same inquistive streak he'd had as a lad...Anakin might be his kid. But what if he wasn't

Shaking his head, the jinchuuriki extricated himself from the covers, donned his leathers, and made for the door. He paused as a gling of silver on the nightstand caught his eye.

His lightsaber_-reassembled after Anakin's bumbling attempt to discern its inner workings-_lay just out of reach. He reached for it, the smallest of smiles twitching at his lips. Just touching it evoked Qui-Gon's shellshocked expression, his look of complete and utter shock, as Naruto won the hand of Saabac, and subsuquently claimed the blade as his own. What a memory that was. Who would've thought jedi had such sucky poker faces? His fingers closing around it, the mandolorian shinobi paced out the door, stepping into the cold night of Tatooine.

He drew in a deep breath, holding the hilt in a loose, one handed grip. Savoring its feel, the modifications he'd made. It was no longer the weapon of a jedi, but of a shinobi. It was his weapon, a shield to protect those he loved, a sword to cut down those who dared seek their harm.

Flicking the hilt, he ignited the blade.

Instead of the eerie green cadence of before, a marvelous magenta greeted him. He'd found that, though he lacked the means to wield the force conventionally as a jedi did-without tearing the galaxy a new backside-it was not beyond him to change the color of the cold crystal itself. Chakra, both his own and that of Kurama's, had molded the jade crystal into something else, creating a blade he could proudly call his own. He'd taken great pangs to etch a simple sigil into his new trophy; the likekness of a lone leaf; a silent nod to his days as a shinobi. Days long behind and past, times remembered with longing and pain.

Happiness and sorrow.

The color was fitting, he thought, given his union with Kurama at the outset of the Fourth Shinobi War. _Violet._ Neither scarlet nor sapphire; neither light, nor dark, but somewhere in between, stradling the line between Good and Evil. This blade, though not his primary weapon of choice, the very essence which a shinobi-possibly the last one in existence-stood for. He found the jedi order and the Sith repulsing as a whole; the former's tendency to shut out even the most base of emotions reminded him of Danzo's Root whereas the latter's obsession and perversion of the self was donwright sickening. Better just to wipe them both out. Well, except Qui-Gon. He was alright. For a jedi. There was also that Twi'lek jedi he'd met a few years back. Now that one, she had one hell of a body. What was her name again? Ailee? No. Aya? No...

_Aayla?_

**"Getting sentimental, kit?"**

_'Hardly.'_ Naruto scoffed at the notion, refusing to even consider such feelings for a woman he barely even knew. Jedi shunned emotion, anyway. Even if he did find her attractive-which he did not mind you!-he hardly expected her to return his feelings. _'Besides, I'm just enjoying my new trophy.'_

**"Whatever you say." **the kitsune groused.** "Although you could always stand to find another woman-**

_'Like hell!'_

**"Don't be like that! I'm sure your wench won't mind sharing...**

_'So you'd rather I set a bad example for Annie, then?'_

**"...like father like son."**

Naruto stumbled half a step foward. His distraction nearly cost him an arm; his grip on the hilt bringing the blade dangerously close to his face before he managed to divert it.

_'OI!' _he scowled at the close call. 'The hell

_'I'm hardly father material as it is._' Naruto chortled as he danced away from an imagined lunge, shifting his hold on the lightsaber into a reverse grip, molding the movement into an effortless one handed parry. _'I only see the kid once every few months and even then its usually only for a few days.'_

**"Yep, certainly no father of the year award, there."**

_'Hey!'_ Naruto flinched at the charign in his partner's words. _'That'll all change once they're free. You just wait and see!'_

**"Ah yes, your brilliant yet deluded plan to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after, was it? I'm sure that'll work out for you."**

_'Well, when you put it that way...it sounds farfetched.'_

**"That's because it is, boy!"**

_'Says the lovelorn fox.' _Naruto snorted.

Kyuubi growled.

**"That was low."**

_'Sorry.'_

**"It's not my fault I'm so damn picky...**

The years might've made him a mandolorian, but he was still very much a shinobi at heart. He had enemies. Many of which wouldn't hesitate to use Shmi or Annie against him. The moment they were free he intended to get them off this kami forsaken dustball and somewhere safe. He just...didn't quite know where that somewhere was yet. His ship was a fine vessel indeed, but it was by no means a place to raise a nine year old child. And for the life of him, he couldn't think of any other place. Coruscant naturally came to mind; even so, he couldn't quite shake the bad feelings that he felt whenever he visted the planet. He doubted he'd run into that zabrak again, but even so...

"**Watch the leg!"** Kurama's warning jostled Naruto out of his reverie and just in time; he'd been perilously close to slicing his own leg off in his inattention.

He performed a few practice swings of the blade, allowing himself to become lost in the blazing colors of the blade until the motions became automatic; his body performing feints and jabs against an unseen opponent. He was half tempted to create a shadow clone, but doing so would likely wake his family. Family. Such musings brought a small smile to shinobi's face. Blood or not, he had a family here. He was still smiling, as he performed a precise riposte and closed down the blade. A faint light greeted his eyes as the sword shrank down into the hilt; the twin suns were begiinning to rise once again. He'd been practicing far longer than he'd thought, and yet he felt barely winded.

'I think that's enough for today.' he decided.

**"Agreed."** was Kyuubi's blase reply.** "I'd rather not spend another week regrowing your limbs."**

Touching a hand to his wrist communicator, he summoned his ship.

Better get the stabilizer installed...

_(The next morning...)_

_"Poodoo!"_

A sharp, huttese profanity rang across the sands of Tatooine the next morning, an explosion racing hot on its heels. Anakin awoke to the smell of smoke, and the sound of huttese curses ringing up and down the yard. He rose from his bed with a start, only to find his mother already at the door. She was clad in little more than a robe, as though she'd woken in a hurry.

_"Peedunkel!"_ Naruto was harraunging a soot-covered duplicate of himself. "I _told_ you to install the stabilizer, not mess with the engine!"

"But boss-

_"Chubba!"_ The menace barked, backhanding his self with the helmet, "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times! Let me know _before_ you get an idea to fiddle with something! This is why I don't use you guys anymore!" The clone, visibly wilted beneath Naruto's viscious verbal assault, and Anakin might've found the whole affair rather comical, were it not for the fierce flush of anger wrapped around the hunter's visage.

"Keepuna!" he barked again, flinging his helmet on the ground.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

"My baby!" Naruto wailed, flinging a hand toward his beloved vessel. "She's ruined! Ruined I tell you! Without a new engine, she'll never fly again!" Anakin, doing his best not to laugh, hazarded a glance at Naruto's 'baby' the ship of which he was so terribly proud.

Named after the village from whence he hailed, the _Konoha _was a massive YT-1250 freighter, its disk-like circumference swathing the slave huts in shadow. Nearly equal in size and scale to that of a J-type 327 Nubian royal starship vessel, it was a force to be reckoned with...and armed to the teeth. Proton torpedoes, turbolasers, tractor beams; the battered freighter, had suffered so many modifications_-not all of them strictly legal-_under Naruto's care it could literally be called a flying arsenal.

Unfortunately, constant modification often meant constant maintenance. Naruto, for all his acquired talents since finding himself in this galaxy far, far away, wasn't all that reliable when it came to maintenance. He liked to run the guns_-and the engines-_until they were red hot or, at times, until the casing cracked. He pushed the Konoha like he pushed himself; to its limits and beyond. And in this case, he'd pushed the ship just a tad to hard.

This time, he'd ruined the engine. Again.

"Grrraaaah!" He snarled, flinging his helmet down upon the sands. _"E chu ta!"_ He might've ranted more, still, had not the flapping of wings reached their ears. Naruto and Anakin turned as one to regard the sound but it was the former who snatched the blaster out his belt and fired at the source. Watto's pained cry rang out like a shot as he toppled to the ground, his left wings seared by the near miss, his pudgdy body squirming as he struggled to right himself.

Naruto was on him in an insant.

"You!" The hunter roared, gloved fingers seeking the toydarian's throat, and failing to find it, closed around one of his spindly arms instead. **"YOU!"** Watto sqwuaked in surprise, his wings beating furtively against the air as he tried to free himself from the mandolorian's crushing grip, but to no avail. Apparently, he had yet to realize the severity of the situation. Yowling in pain, the toydarian found himlsef dragged down to the ground and hauled forward; forced to face the smoking ruin of Naruto's veseel; towering over them all like an avenging angel.

"Gah!" Watto rasped out. "Why is your ship still here, hunter?! What you want?!"

"Don't play dumb!" Naruto gestured with his free hand, indicating the smoking innards of the _Konoha_. "You sold me a bad part! Now my engine's shot to hell!" For a moment-just a moment-Anakin thought he saw Watto's mouth twist into a knowing smile. _Sithspit!_

"You can always pay for new engine." the toydarian's voice was thick with desperation. "I sell you one! Cheap, yes! A million troguts!" Anakin felt his heart skip a beat. Engines were by no means _cheap_, especially on Tatooine, especially at Watto's prices.

Naruto hissed in a sharp intake of breath; apparently he'd reached the same conclusion.

_"Ees hoppada nopa!" _He barked back at Watto. "I'm not going to pay that and you know it! I've been saving that money for Shmi and Annie! Not you, you cheating little-

"Is not my fault, outlander!" Watto cried in protest. "You kill me, you get nothing-_yik!"_

Watto's defiance evaporated as the bounty hunter jammed a blaster into his bulbous nose. There was an audible '_clack'_ as he flicked the setting from stun to kill, and Anakin knew in his heart that there would be no stopping Naruto this time. He could see madness in the man's eyes now; nearly a decade of pent up fury and exasperation tamped down; rising now to the fore, in the wake of this sudden and unexpected incident. And weren't his eyes meant to be blue? All Anakin could see was those sinister scarlet -not sapphire- orbs peering down at Watto

"You have three seconds to convince me not to shoot you in the face."

"W-Wait!" Watto sputtered, eyes bulging. Shmi made no effort to come to his aid, she merely ushered Anakin behind her. The boy dared to peek out from around his mother's leg, and found only a chilling complacency in the hunter's eyes. His face reflected nothing; it was if he were set in stone, unflinching, umoving. Whatever frenzied emotion he'd glimpsed was gone now, replaced by a frightening lack of emotion. Naruto radiated nothing but resolve. He _would_ shoot Watto this time, and lose no sleep over it.

_"One."_

"I give you discount!" the junk dealer pleaded.

_"Two."_

"I give you the woman for free!" For a moment Naruto hesitated, and Anakin thought Watto might've won; that the man might actually cease his countdown. Then his features tightened and the rage was back in full force. His boot struck the toydarian in the stomach, pinning him against a nearby bulkehead, his blaster swinging, tracking with the movement-

"No!" Watto yowled, flinging both arms before his face in a feeble attempt to ward off the blaster bolt.

_"Three!"_ Naruto's finger tightened on the trigger, his words nearly lost over the deafening roar of an unseen engine. There was a muffled crack. Anakin flinched. Shmi gasped. Watto screamed-

-as the blaster bolt slammed into his shoulder. The shot wrenched him from the hunter's grip and flung him down into the sand like a rag doll. Huttese curses spilled from his split lip like a torrent of warm mud, the smacking syllables nearly indistinguishable from one another as the toydarian clutched at his wound and shrieked his fury. Naruto seemed to take no satisfaction in the act, this implacable warrior merely tossed the toydarian a medkit and continued on as though nothing had happened. Anakin wondered how the man had missed. He'd seen Naruto hit his mark from miles away; for him to have missed at point blank range was something of an impossibility.

Then he heard it. Saw it.

Naruto stood still as a god, his eyes tracking something unseen. But not for long. Even as Anakin looked on he saw it in the distance; a sleak starship, gleaming silver in the harsh light of the twin suns of Tatooine. He watched, dumbfounded, as it forsook the port and instead roared past overhead and into the desert. Naruto barked out a laugh; it was a deep, throaty sound. Anakin swung around in surprise, alarmed by the sudden sound of exultation.

He watched as a slow smile spread across the man's face, formerly devoid of mirth, now wide and bright with unconstrained delight.

"Well, what have we here?" he murmurred to himself. He turned toward Watto, kicked the medkit closer to the flailing toydarian, leaving the junk dealer to fumble at it with his good arm. Naruto's boot stamped down upon the kit, holding it in place.

"If I find out you cheated me, _di'kut,_ there'll be nowhere in the galaxy you can hide." Without another word he pressed a button on his wrist-mounted communicator. His jetpack roared to life with a flare of flame and sound, nearly deafening Anakin. And then the hunter was gone, shooting into the belly of his ship. There was a harsh clatter, punctuated by a triumphant cry, and then Naruto was back again, bearing what looked like a set of macrobinoculars. He trained them in the direction the ship had gone, his smile growing with every second. Abruptly he closed them down, leaving Anakin to wonder, alongside his mother, exactly what he'd seen out there.

"Heh," he chuckled. "Things are looking up for you today, Watto."

"What...makes you say that?" the toydarian wheezed, his beady eyes narrowed with suspicion upon the man who'd just shot him.

"Because," And here Naruto's gaze did glitter with amusement...

"I do believe I just found myself a new engine."

* * *

**A/N: Ta-da! And with that, we come one step closer to the events of the Phantom Menace! Just what is Naruto up to? Does he knew Qui-Gon is aboard that ship? Or does he merely intend to steal its engine? And as we know, Maul will soon be hot on their heels...What will everyone's reaction be once they meet Naruto?! I promise it'll be interesting! ****How will this affect their future? How will his prescence change the events that are to come?! Find out next time in...**

**...the Shinobi Menace! ****And of course, in the ever immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review! It is your destiny! And enjoy the preview!**

_(Preview)_

_Naruto grit his teeth, lightsaber flaring to life in his off hand. The violet blade cast an eerie pall between them, a line he would not allow the boy to cross. When the bounty hunter finally found his voice, it was rough with emotion; hoarse, as though he were making a great effort to restrain himself._

_"Get on the ship, Annie."_

_The boy stood stock still, unable to take his eyes from the still form of his mother on the desert floor, and the seething figure of the man who just might be his father. He could feel the man's tension, his desire to go to her and make sure she was well. And then there was the wicked looking zabrak standing firmly between them; yellow eyes agleam with fiendish delight the mosaic of his face curved into a wicked grin. Qui-Gon's face was set in stone, his features betraying nothing. Anakin sensed none of the turmoil from Naruto in the man, yet even so he feared the jedi might not be an even match for the grim specter barring his path._

_"Anakin." Naruto spoke once more, his words barely a hiss. "Get on the ship and tell them to take off. Now."_

_"But-_

**_"Get on the karking ship!" _**_Naruto rounded on him, his pupils wide and red with fury, his irises inverted and crossed._

_Anakin dithered a moment longer, blue orbs drifting back and forth between the two men and the frightening specter before them. He felt Naruto's eyes on his back, but he daren't turn, for fear that the demonic figure would pounce upon him, as it had his mother. _

_'Please let her be alright.' he prayed to all the gods he'd ever heard of. 'Please oh please oh please..._

_Naruto watched him go, and it was only when the ramp began to close that he deigned to return his attention the simmering sith standing before them. He had to end this quickly. Had to get to Shmi. He had to. He must._

_As if sensing his tension, the sith raised a hand and force-pushed Shmi, dragging her body even further away from them. Her cry of pain tore at Naruto's heartstrings; ripped them to pieces. He wanted nothing more than to go to her side; and yet her very presence prevented him from using his more powerful techniques; from wipping this shitty little sith clear off the face of Tatooine for fear of hurting her, catching her in the blast radius. The lightsaber had never felt so heavy in his hand; he was reliant upon the weapon now, more than ever._

_"You're going to regret that, horn-head." he hissed._

_Maul sneered, visibly stung by the insult, retaliated with one of his own:_

_"You fear for her." he snarled. "It is your fear that makes me stronger."_

_"Fear?" The jinchuuriki mused as he raised his sabre. Of all the shitty timing. He was already low on chakra from his earlier exertions, he wasn't wearing his armour, and he'd left both blasters in his other scroll. He suspected reaching for them just might give the newly empowered Maul the chance he needed; the chance to kill him. But that didn't matter. Shmi was right there; RIGHT THERE, lying, dying at his feet. He was pissed the hell off!_

_"Yes, I suppose it is fear..._

_"Fea that allows me to live, fear that forces me to thrive, and you..._

**_...to die!_**

_He burst forward with what little fuel remained in his jetpack, lightsaber thrust before him like a lance. Maul dodged aside and met his assault with an upturned palm and an invisible wall. Ungrounded as Naruto was, the force push launched him backwards head over heels, returning him to the Qui-Gon's side. Grunting, the jinchuuriki picked himself up, dusted his leathers off, and dragged himself to his feet with a visible effort._

_"It seems we brought trouble with us." The jedi master sighed._

_"I've had a good long run." Naruto grinned, snapping of a salute with his blade. "No regrets here." Without another word he lunged forward, stabbing his saber like a lance; feinting at the last instant to cut at his lower torso. But the sith must've been expecting it; because he batted it aside and riposted with a lunge of his own; striking the shinobi full in the face, stunning him. There came another snap-hiss, and suddenly there were not one but **two** blades, standing erect at either end; the latter careening towards the blonde's exposed neck._

_Naruto blinked in surprise. He knew precious little of lightsabers; the last time he'd fought maul he'd simply assumed the sith was fighting with an absurdly long handle. Now, too late, he realized his mistake, as the crimson beam slammed down against his unprotected jugular-_

_Vzzzzzzm!_

_Qui-Gon's blade was there, interposing itself between the crimson death blow and the shinobi's neck. The tattooed Sith snarled his frustration, forced to abort his attack at the last instant lest he lose his head. And he nearly did,as the recovered blonde brought his own blade up and down, striking a searing line between them. They faced him together, Jedi and hunter, their blades glistening in the heat of the searing afternoon, forced together by the unlikeliest of circumstances._

_And then battle was joined._

**Hope you enjoyed it!**

**R&R! =D**


	4. Two of a Kind

**A/N: I RETURN! It's been such a long time since I've touched this story! A very long time! And durig that time, I've had so many different ideas building up inside my head it feels like my brain has been about to burst! I know I've kept you all waiting and since you're probably dying to know what happens next, I'll skip the usual rant. Spoilers ahead; blah blah blah I own nothing, everyone is the property of their respective creators and what not. Disclaimer over! As another note, I've decided to change Naruto's saber back to green, for copyright reasons. And with that...**

**...Onto the next chapter!**

_"How do you know this man?"_

_~Padme Admidala._

**Two of a Kind**

_(Ten Minutes Earlier)_

In the cockpit, Ric Olie was directing the transport toward a large yellowish planet that was steadily filling up the viewport as they approached its surface. The Jedi and Captain Panaka stood behind him, peering over his shoulder at the ground maps he had punched up on the monitors.

"Tatooine," Obi-Wan Kenobi confirmed, speaking to no one in particular.

Ric Olie pointed to one of the maps on the scopes.

"There's a settlement that looks like it should have what we need...a spaceport, it looks like. Mos Espa." He glanced up at the Jedi.

"Land near the city's outskirts," Qui-Gon Jinn ordered. "We don't want to attract attention."

The pilot nodded and began to guide the transport in.

It took only moments to direct it down through the planet's atmosphere to a patch of desert just in sight of the city. The Nubian landed in a swirl of dust, settling comfortably in place atop its landing struts, perching on the arid soil like an ancient bird of prey. In the distance, Mos Espa glimmered faintly through the shimmer of the midday heat.

Qui-Gon sent his protege to uncouple the hyperdrive and Captain Panaka to advise the Queen of their landing. He was settled on going into the spaceport _alone_ as soon as he left the cockpit to find other clothing and in doing so, happened upon Jar Jar Binks, the Queen's handmaiden Padme, and the little R2 unit they had to thank for their escape, R2-D2.

He slowed, considering the possibility that going into the city alone would make him more noticeable.

"Jar Jar," he said finally. "Get ready. You're going with me. The droid as well."

He continued on without looking back. The Gungan stared after him in disbelief, then in horror. By the time he regained his wits, the jedi was out of view. Wailing in dismay, he chased after him and came upon Obi-Wan in the main cabin hoisting the hyperdrive out of the bowels of the ship.

"Obi-One, sire!" he gasped, throwing himself to his knees in front of the younger jedi. "Pleeeese, no make me go wit Quiggon!"

Obi-Wan was inclined to agree, but knew better than to say so. Once his master made up his mind, that was that. "Sorry, but Qui-Gon is right. This is a multinational spaceport, a trading center. You'll make him appear less obvious by going along." His brow furrowed as he turned back to the hyperdrive. "I hope." he muttered to himself.

Jar Jar climbed to his feet and trudged disconsolately toward R2-D2, his mouth set in a grimace of forbearance. The astromech droid beeped in sympathy, then made a series of encouraging clicks. For what little good it did as the gungan trudged back aroung the curner, murmurring all the while:

"Mezza no wanna go..."

Qui-Gon reappeared, dressed now as a farmer in tunic, leggings, and a poncho. He walked past them to where Obi-Wan was studying the hyperdrive.

"What have you found?"

Obi-Wan's young face clouded. "The generator is shot. We'll need a new one."

"I thought as much." The Jedi Master knelt next to his protoge. "Well, we can't risk communication with Coruscant this far out on the edge of the galaxy. It might be intercepted and our position revealed. We'll have to get by on our own." He lowered his voice to a near whisper. "Don't let anyone send a transmission while I'm gone. Be wary, Obi-Wan. I sense a disturbance in the Force."

Obi-Wan's eyes lifted to his. "I feel it also, Master. I will be careful."

Qui-Gon rose, gathered up Jar Jar and the R2 unit, and headed down the loading ramp to the planet's floor. An empty carpet of sand stretched away in all direction, broken only by massive rock formations and the distant skyline of Mos Espa. The suns that gave the planet life beat down with a ferocity that seemed as if they were determined to steal that life back again. Heat rose off the sand in a shimmering wave, the air so dry it sucked the moisture from their throat and nose passages.

Jar Jar glanced skyward, with a groan, lamenting the scorching suns.

At a signal from Qui-Gon, they began to walk-or in the case of the R2 unit, to roll. A strange caravan of animals and riders, carts and sleds appeared against the distant skyline like a shadow mirage, all misshapen and threatening to evaporate in the blink of an eye. Jar Jar muttered some more, but no one was paying attention. Least of all Qui-Gon. With each step he took, the disturbance grew stronger, as if it were actively seeking them out intentionally. Searching for something.

But what?

They had not gotten far-and the jedi not far into his musings-when a shout brought them around. Two figures were running toward them from the transport. As they neared, Qui-Gon was able to make out Captain Panaka and a girl dressed in rough peasant's garb. He stopped and waited until they caught up, a frown creasing his leonine features.

"What's the matter?" he asked the captain.

Panaka was sweating. "Her Highness commands you to take a handmaiden with you. She wishes for Padme to give her own report of what you might-

"No more commands from Her Highness today, Captain." Qui-Gon interrupted quickly, shaking his head in refusal. "Mos Espa is not going to be a pleasant place for-

"The Queen wishes it," Panaka interrupted him right back, his face angry and set. "She is emphatic. She wishes to know more about this planet."

The girl took a step forward. Her dark eyes found Qui-Gon's. "I've been trained in self-defense," she said. "I also speak a number of languages. I am not afraid. I can take care of myself."

_Can you, I wonder?_

Captain Panaka sighed, looking over his shoulder toward the ship. "Don't make me go back and tell her you refuse."

Qui-Gon hesitated, prepared to do exactly that. Then he looked at Padme again, saw the strength in her eyes, and changed his mind. She might be useful. Traveling with a girl, they might suggest a family in transit and present a less aggressive look.

He nodded. "I don't have time to argue the matter, Captain. I still think this is a bad idea, but she may come." He gave Padme a stern look of warning. "Stay close to me."

He started away again, the others trailing. Captain Panaka stood watching with undisguised relief as the strange little procession of Jedi Master, handmaiden, Gungan, and astromech droid moved off into the sweltering landscape toward Mos Espa. He did his level best to remind himself that everything was perfectly alright; nothing could possibly happen to Padme with a jedi watching over her. That he wasn't making a mortal mistake by allowing her to venture out into the scorching sands of the Tatooine.

Still...

...he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly, horribly wrong.

And that rising sound of a jetpack in the distance was probably just his imagination.

Right?

* * *

_(Back in the present)_

Naruto heard it.

_Saw it._

Naruto stood still as a god, his eyes tracking something unseen. But not for long. Even as Anakin looked on he saw it in the distance; a sleak starship, gleaming silver in the harsh light of the twin suns of Tatooine. He watched, dumbfounded, as it forsook the port and instead roared past overhead and into the desert. Naruto barked out a laugh; it was a deep, throaty sound. Anakin swung around in surprise, alarmed by the sudden sound of exultation.

He watched as a slow smile spread across the man's face, formerly devoid of mirth, now wide and bright with unconstrained delight.

"Well, what have we here?" he murmurred to himself. He turned toward Watto, kicked the medkit closer to the flailing toydarian, leaving the junk dealer to fumble at it with his good arm. Naruto's boot stamped down upon the kit, holding it in place.

"If I find out you cheated me, _di'kut,_ there'll be nowhere in the galaxy you can hide." Without another word he pressed a button on his wrist-mounted communicator. His jetpack roared to life with a flare of flame and sound, nearly deafening Anakin. And then the hunter was gone, shooting into the belly of his ship. There was a harsh clatter, punctuated by a triumphant cry, and then Naruto was back again, bearing what looked like a set of macrobinoculars. He trained them in the direction the ship had gone, his smile growing with every second. Abruptly he closed them down, leaving Anakin to wonder, alongside his mother, exactly what he'd seen out there.

"Heh," he chuckled. "Things are looking up for you today, Watto."

"What...makes you say that?" the toydarian wheezed, his beady eyes narrowed with suspicion upon the man who'd just shot him.

"Because," And here Naruto's gaze did glitter with amusement...

"I do believe I just found myself a new engine."

Without another word, the bounty hunter pressed a finger to his wrist gauntlet, igniting the flames of his jetpack. It started to life with a baleful roar, as if eager to used after all this time. The blonde snappe off a salute toward Anakin and Shmi, promised to be back before supper, and then he was gone, roaring forward into the distance.

Toward a destiny even he did not yet understand.

* * *

_(Sometime later)_

It was not yet midafternoon by the time the members of the little company under Qui-Gon's command came within sight of Mos Espa. That was when everything went straight to _poodoo._ No sooner had the jedi master begun to lower his guard, to feel some semblance of security, than he felt it. He'd been nursing a nagging sense of unease ever since they'd left the transport behind, now that unease erupted into full-fledged alarm as the whine of a jetpack reached his ears from across the desert, its mournful wail keening like some long forgotten beast.

The Force screamed a warning; and not a moment too soon.

_Twang!_

"Down!" he cried, shoving Padme and Jar Jar to the dusty streets a split second before blaster fire erupted overhead. The shots went wide, spraying harmlessly aside when they could've easily struck the pair down. The warning shot fired, the jedi master turned and reached for his lightsaber as a black blur streaked past over their heads, ready to and willing to do battle with this unseen foe.

_Vzzzm!_

With a fierce electronic growl, the energy shaft surged forth, as if eager to be free after all this time. Qui-Gon swung the blazing blade of jade once, then reversed the stroke, deflecting their assailant's second shot with ease and grace bespoken of decades of training, sending the bolt screaming off into the desert afternoon. Before their pursuer could circle back and finish them off, he reached out with the Force, seeking to wrest them down to the ground-

It was like trying to move a mountain. Qui-Gon balked. Only one man had been able to resist the force like that. Only-

_Twang!_

Their attacker fired off another shot in recompense for his temerity, breaking Qui-Gon's concentration and searing an angry red line mere milllimeters from the jedi's cheek. Flighty fingers of fear raced up and down his spine; a fear that was quickly quelled as the jedi pivoted to ward off another blaster bolt.

"Above you!" Padme pointed into the blazing suns. Qui-Gon squinted into the blinding haze and nearly lost an eye for it as a hail of blasterfire peppered at his feet.

Much to his charign, Qui-Gon caught sight of their attacker; a man in menacing mandolorian armor, held aloft by a jetpack. He snapped of a sarcastic salute and swooped down at them, firing his twin blasters with keen precision, a precision the jedi recognized all too well.

He let the Force wash through him like a wave, an invisible cascade that carried him out of danger and in a long arc to meet his airborne foe. The Mandolorian fired repeatedly, bolts of red lambent energy that Qui-Gon, guided by the Force, batted away with his weapon as he rose. None came close. And then, just as he was upon their attacker, the mandolorian surprised him. Instead of retreating, he gunned the jetpack and surged to meet Qui-Gon with fists and feet, both alarming and startling the master jedi.

The distraction proved most costly; a booted foot slammed into the jedi's midsection and drove him back to the arid earth. But not before his lightsaber descended upon the hunter's jetpack, warping wire and silcing off key circuity. He thought he heard the mando curse as they fell, plummeiting to the earth in a tangle of arms and legs. Qui-Gonn managed to disentangle himself just before they struck the ground, the armoured warrior absorbing the brunt of the impact with a muffled grunt. Unfortunately, their impact also knocked the lightsaber free from the jedi's grip, sending the hilt rolling across the sands.

_____"Haar'chak!"_ The mandolorian cursed and took that opportunity to headbutt Qui-Gon in the face.

A jarring headbutt, but it also scrambled the man's _HUD _and bought the Jedi precious time to find his footing and distance as well as recover his lightsaber. The Mandolorian rose more slowly, refusing to spare so much as even a passing glance at the ruined remnants of his jetpack. He rolled his shoulders, and sheathed his blasters, sliding them into their holsters at his hip.

Silence reigned as the two men circled one another, searching for any sign of an opening, ready to pounce upon the slightest weakness.

Despite his momentary victory, Qui-Gon knew this battle was far from won. Whomever his attacker was, they were well trained. Not only that, but out here in the desert with Padme and Jar Jar to protect, he was forced into fighting a defensive battle on two fronts with no cover afforded for his friends. This did not bode well.

"Well now," The mandolorian chortled bleakly, his voice distorted both by distance and the T-shaped visor and helm he wore. "Didn't think I'd meet a _Jetii_ all the way out here. Say, you wouldn't happen to be the owner of that ship that set down a few clicks from here, would you?"

Qui-Gon held his tongue; the mandolorian sighed and murmurred a phrase in his native language, his body seeming to bob and bend in the sweltering haze.

_"Suit yourself." _he sighed. "I guess I'll just have to kill you and take that engine of yours._ No offense."_

A holdout blaster seemingly materialized in his empty hand; he'd squeezed off a trio of shots before anyone could think to stop him.

The force was an invisible cataract that carried Qui-Gon in its grip, bearing him as lightly and easily as a fish through water. He surrendered to it, as he'd learned to do long before, letting it guide and direict him, letting it move him in offensive and defensive actions far faster and more precise than his conscious mind could have executed. The Mandolorian's blaster fire ricocheted from his lightsaber in blinding flashes, the energy bursts dissipating harmlessly into the earth and sky.

A slight degree to the right sent one such bolt carroming off his blade and back from whence it came; pinging off the man's helm, to damage his helmet. The Mandolorian didn't seem at all fazed by it; he barked a laugh and discarded the blaster like loose change, instead reaching for what looked like a small cylinder from his belt.

"Not bad, _Jetii!"_ His voice boomed behind the damaged helmet."Didn't think I'd ever have a chance to use this!"

Unclipping it, he charged forward, moving with a speed that belied the heavy armour he wore.

Qui-Gon almost balked at the sheer stupidity of such a move. Behind him, he heard Padme gasp. He shared her sentiment. What did the man think he was doing?! To charge a jedi unarmed was truly a foolish thing! He brought his blade up and dropped it down as the mandolorian lunged at him; a merciful, disarming stroke meant to end their battle.

It glanced off the man's armored arm like water, tracing a blistering welt upon the man's gauntlet, nothing more.

_Mandolorian Steel._

He spun as the man grabbed for him, swinging from his head-

_Vzzm!_

Qui-Gon felt the blood freeze in his veins as a _verdant green blade_ so much like his own sizzled into existence between him and the Mandolorian, blocking his strike at the last instant. A lightsaber! His distraction proved nearly fatal; the mandolorian battered him backwards in a brutal block that nearly brought his own lightsaber into his shoulder before he could recover. He was dimly aware of Padme's scream as the mandolorian raised one hand from the handle of his saber, drew it back and slammed it forward, all in the blink of an eye.

The jedi braced himself for gesyer of flame or the stinging impact of a laser but what came was much more basic than he'd intended. Clenched knuckles barreled into Qui-Gon's visage like a charging bantha; a powerful punch that crushed cartilege and shattered capilliaries as though they were glass. The jedi staggered backwards and scythed his legs out as he fell, trying to take the man down with him. But the hunter anticipated this and stepped backward, leaving Qui-Gon to topple to the sands in heap, alone.

The mandolorian loomed over him, an armored titan, savoring its victory.

"Oh noooooz!"

Jar Jar wailed in despair as the hunter brought his blade down in a hammering strike, tearing Qui-Gon's lightsaber from his grasp even as he brought it up in a last, desperate parry from the ground. He reached for the fallen weapon but the mandolorian was more agile, planting a booted foot down upon the blade; and the other upon the master's chest.

_"You lose."_

He spun the blade once overhead and brought it crashing down, intent upon the kill-

_"Weeeeeeeoooooooooooooooh!"_

R2-D2 squealed loudly, momentarily capturing the hunter's attention, just for a moment. It was enough.

_Twang!_

A blaster bolt struck the mandolorian dead center in the helmet, shattering his visor and snapping his head backwards. It was a kill shot, erupting out the back of the man's head with a bolt of lambent energy. The boot upon Qui-Gon's chest went slack alongside the rest of him, slowly teetering backwards. The aging master pushed the booted heel off his chest began to rise.

And the hunter stomped down. _Hard._

Qui-Gon groaned as he was forced back to the ground, stars-whole planets-speckling before his vision. Through the black haze he was dimly aware of his attacker's face, now made visible through the shattered helmet; those blue eyes narrowed in agitation as he turned to face his surprise attacker.

"Not bad, _Cyar'ika." _He cracked his neck, popping the a few joints. "You almost had me there."

Qui-Gon craned his neck, searching for his saviour.

Padme stood only a few meters away, determined and unflinching, clutching the hunter's discarded hold out blaster in her left hand. Her dark eyes narrow in disbelief, then grew large with horror as the warrior reached up to his hampered helm and removed it, revealing the sizzling hole in the center of his forehead. It was a clean through and through, yet even as she looked on the wound began to close; flesh then bone, sizzling shut to leave his forehead unmarred and whole.

He turned and revealed his whiskered face, confirming the jedi's suspicions.

And then the bounty hunder looked down, as though seeing Qui-Gon for the first time.

_"You!"_ The gasp of surprise came from both Naruto and Qui-Gon at once, baffling Padme. Did these two know one another? But that was ridiculous. They'd been trying to kill each other only a few seconds ago! The pair gawped at each other a moment longer, refusing to believe their eyes. Silence hung over them like a n

Naruto was the one who cut it.

"Qui-Gon, you magnifcent bastard!" The blond startled her with a roar of laughter, extinguishing his lightsaber and clipping it upon his belt. "I should've know that was you!" To her infinite disbelief he reached down and clasped the venerable jedi's hand, hoisted the master to his feet, and clapped him on the back like a long lost friend. "What the _fierfek_ are you doing here?!"

"I was told you'd died," Qui-Gon said to Naruto, dusting himself off with a sweep of his hand.

"I nearly did," Naruto replied, a wry smile tugging at his whiskered cheeks.

"How is it you're here?"

"Long story." The blond answered. "What about you?"

"Also a long story, I'm afraid."

"Well, I'm stuck on this dustball at the moment, so I've got nothing but time."

"Unfortunately, that is something I lack."

Naruto made a face.

"Alright, if you're gonna be stingy about it...

Padme cleared her throat.

"Excuse me Master Jedi, but...just how do you know this man?"

Much to Naruto's delight, the jedi master actually _blanched._ The blond took a perverse pleasure in the man's look of discomfort; it was extraordinarily rare to see a jedi so distressed. He took one glance at Padme, then Jar Jar, followed by R2-D2, his earsplitting grin growing with each passing second.

"You didn't tell anyone, did you?"

Qui-Gon sighed, his leonine features twisted in resignation as he drew the bounty hunter aside. His voice was barely a whisper.

"No, and I'd very much appreciate it if you kept that between us."

"Oh?" Naruto arched an eyebrow. "That depends."

"Depends on what?"

_"Just how much are you willing to pay?"_

* * *

_(Some hours later)_

The suns had begun to set upon Tatooine.

Shmi Skywalker fiddled restless with her hair, braiding and unbraiding it as she waited for her boys to return home. She could hear the sands stirring restlessly outside on the plains, a sure sign that a storm was coming and coming fast. Outside, the wind howled past the doors and windows, shaving a fresh layer of skin from the exterior of the walls. Naruto had proimised he'd be home before supper. It wasn't that she didn't trust them to be safe-she knew Naruto's invulnerability rendered her beloved almost unkillable-and yet despite the fact she still worried for him. Not just for him, but for Annie as well.

Her son took after Naruto so well, it was almost frightening at times. The resemblance was uncanny. They were such much alike, and yet neither seemed to notice. They were almost two of a kind, he and Naruto, and yet neither realized it.

She felt her eyes tear at the thought.

"Mom!" Anakin called excitedly from the main room. "Mom! I'm home!"

Shmi hastily dabbed the tears from her eyes as her son entered the ktichen in a blur of motion, chattering excitedly. Apparently Naruto had found much more than a mere engine out there in the desert. Speaking of his mentor, where was he?

"Where's Naruto?" Shmi craned her head, half-expecting the blond bounty hunter to burst into the room at any moment. She'd yet to hear from him ever since he'd set out this morning, to "acquire" a new engine. Now, Shmi loved him_-truly, she did-_but sometimes his actions worried her. Today's display of violence was just the tip of the iceburg; while she wanted nothing more than to see Wattto dead, she did _not_ wish to have Anakin exposed to such violence. She wanted her son to lead a happy life, one devoid of the hardships and suffering she'd known when she was a girl.

"He's right behind me!" Anakin was grinning practically shining with warmth. "But forget about that! He brought some friends! One of them's a girl! Her name's Padme and...and...

To Shmi's disbelief, her son actually _flushed._

"Mom, I-I think I like her...

Shmi felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. Her little boy was growing up, starting to have feelings for girls. And she'd been keeping secrets from him. Something she'd sworn never to do, and yet she'd done this anyway-more out of a desire to shield him than anything else-leaving him in the dark all this while. She felt her feelings tear inside her breast. Unbidden, she drew her son into her arms.

"Oh, Annie...

Anakin blinked.

"What's wrong, mom?"

"I need to talk to you about Naruto," Her voice was an anguished whisper. "There's something I haven't told you about him; something important."

"W-What're you talking about?" Anakin tilted his head; he was truly at a loss. "What about Naruto?"

Shmi took a deep breath and steeled herself. Everything was moving so swiftly, she suddenly feared she'd never have a chance to tell her son this again.

"Naruto is...

**A/N: And there you have it! The unlikely meeting between Naruto and Qui-Gon! And just a liiittle badassery on Padme's part! Not to menton Naruto's near god-like durability. I mean, he survived being shot! Through the head! If that doesn't kill him, what will! And Shmi's about to tell little Annie a secret about Naruto?! What's going to happen now? Is Anakin truly his son? Stay tuned...to find out, next time, on The Shinobi Menace!**

**So...in the immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY!**

**R&R! =D**


	5. Like Father Like Son

**A/N: I RETURN! It's been such a long time since I've touched this story! A very long time! And durig that time, I've had so many different ideas building up inside my head it feels like my brain has been about to burst! I know I've kept you all waiting and since you're probably dying to know what happens next, I'll skip the usual rant. Spoilers ahead; blah blah blah I own _nothing_, everyone is the property of their respective creators and what not. Disclaimer over! As another note, we finally break the news of Anakin's parentage in this chapter. And with that...**

**...Onto the next chapter! And of course...HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!**

_"Long is the years you have waited._

_From all the hardship and turmoil._

_But when it finally comes._

_The day is at hand."_

_~?_

**Like Father Like Son**

"Mom!" Anakin called excitedly from the main room. "Mom! I'm home!"

Shmi hastily dabbed the tears from her eyes as her son entered the ktichen in a blur of motion, chattering excitedly. Apparently Naruto had found much more than a mere engine out there in the desert. Speaking of his mentor, where was he?

"Where's Naruto?" Shmi craned her head, half-expecting the blond bounty hunter to burst into the room at any moment. She'd yet to hear from him ever since he'd set out this morning, to "acquire" a new engine. Now, Shmi loved him_-truly, she did-_but sometimes his actions worried her. Today's display of violence was just the tip of the iceburg; while she wanted nothing more than to see Wattto dead, she did _not_ wish to have Anakin exposed to such violence. She wanted her son to lead a happy life, one devoid of the hardships and suffering she'd known when she was a girl.

"He's right behind me!" Anakin was grinning practically shining with warmth. "But forget about that! He brought some friends! One of them's a girl! Her name's Padme and...and...

To Shmi's disbelief, her son actually _flushed._

"Mom, I-I think I like her...

Shmi felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. Her little boy was growing up, starting to have feelings for girls. And she'd been keeping secrets from him. Something she'd sworn never to do, and yet she'd done this anyway-more out of a desire to shield him than anything else-leaving him in the dark all this while. She felt her feelings tear inside her breast. Fear. Anxiety. Longing. Hope. Unbidden, she drew her son into her arms as softly as she dared.

"Oh, Annie...

Anakin blinked.

"What's wrong, mom?"

"I need to talk to you about Naruto," Her voice was an anguished whisper. "There's something I haven't told you about him; something important."

"W-What're you talking about?" Anakin tilted his head; he was truly at a loss. "What about Naruto?"

Shmi took a deep breath and steeled herself. Everything was moving so swiftly, she suddenly feared she'd never have a chance to tell her son this again.

"Naruto is...

* * *

_...your father!"_

Both Anakin and Shimi startled in surprise as the blonde bounty hunter barged into the room, grinning from ear to ear. "Eh?" Naruto blinked, glanced from the baffled boy to his mortified mother, then back again. There was a silence as he scratched at the back of his head. "Um...aren't I?" Before the former could think to reply the latter _balked_, recognizing the tell-tale burns of a lightsaber etched into her beloved's armor alongside the shattered state of his visor and helm cradled under an arm. He looked as though he'd just emerged from a bar-room brawl, and his weathered smile only confirmed her suspicions. Then his words sank in.

Shmi gawped like a fish out of water.

"You knew?"

_"I guessed."_ Naruto admitted with a rueful smile. "Honestly Shmi, you think I didn't notice the resemblance?" He reached down to muss Anakin's hair with an overlarge hand, drawing a blink from the boy. "So...Annie..I guess you really are my kid, eh?"

Shmi wanted to weep. Tears of joy! Never in a million parsecs had she thought Naruto would be so accepting of the fact that Anakin was his son. His own flesh and blood, her greatest secret, now revealed. She watched her son's expression flicker through a range of different emotions; startled, confused, hopeful, exultant. There was a moment of silence; teririble _dreadful_ silence as Anakin glanced from his mother, to Naruto, then back again, warring between shock and disbelief.

_"Dad!"_

His cry was so unexpected that when it came, it caught both of them off guard.

"Oof!" Naruto grunted in shock and surprise as the sudden tackle nearly bowled him backwards for a moment. But just a moment. Recovering his balance, he reached down and took the boy in his arms, embracing him for all he was worth, as though in doing so he could somehow make up for all the years he'd been absent. Shmi felt the tears as they welled up in her eyes; she was beyond being moved anymore, there were simply no words worthy of this moment.

"Hey!" Naruto chortled softly. "Just like that?! You're gonna call me dad? And here I thought you wouldn't wanna think about your mom doing the Bantha with two backs..."

Annie blinked; evidently the metaphor was lost on him.

_"Bantha with two backs?"_

Shmi, much to her charign, flushed scarlet.

"Naruto!"

The blond cackled devilishly and drew her into their warm embrace.

"What?! It's true!"

* * *

Qui-Gon Jinn and company entered to the sounds of laughter and reproach. He spared a backwards glance for the large vessel at their backs, admiring the massive YT-1250 freighter, which surely belonged to the blond hunter within. It stood tall and proud, its disklike circumference stoically weathering the sandstorm, sheathing the already darkened slave huts in shadow. It was nearly equal in size and scale to the queen's ship, which was a feet in and of itself. Once glance was all that was need to kow it was a force to be reckoned with...and if it was anything like its owner, likely armed to the teeth. Proton Torpedoes, turbolasers, tractor beams; the battered freighter and its matte black hull appeared to have suffered many modifications-_most of which probably weren't strictly legal-_under Naruto's care.

Black as night, it could literally be called a flying arsenal by now.

With a nod of respect toward the battered freighter, the jedi master continued after the others inside. The sandstorm grew muffled as the door slid shut behind him, giving Qui-Gon time to shake the sand from his coat and take note of his surroundings, humble though they were.

Adobe walls, whitewashed and scrubbed, glimmered softly in a mix of storm-clouded sunlight admitted through small, arched windows and a diffuse electric glow ceiling fixtures. They stood in the main room, a smallish space dominated by a table and chairs. A kitchen occupied one wall and a work space another. Opening led to smaller nooks and sleeping rooms, from which he could hear Anakin and Naruto chattering excitedly. Those two...did they realize they were related, he wondered? The resemblance was almost uncanny, impossible to miss.

Outside, the wind howled past the doors and windows and echoed his thoughts, shaving a fresh layer of skin from the exterior of the walls.

Jar Jar Binks looked around with a mix of curiosity and relief.

"Tis cozy," he murmurred.

Anakin's mother entered from a work area off to one side, brushing her hands on her dress, the faintest smile pulling at her lips. Despite himself, Qui-Gon blinked. She was a woman who appeared to be in her twenties, but one look at her eyes_-and in the Force-suggested_ she was actually much older, somewhere in her mid-to-late thirties. Her long brown hair lay tied back from her smooth face, her clothing rough and simple; she was simplicity itself, and yet her beauty struck him with such force he found himself momentarily speechless; he could _feel_ Naruto's prescence within her.

_And she was with child._

He could see the tiny life within her stomach through the force, barely more than a few collection of cells at present, but present nonetheless. She probably wasn't even aware of it, and likely wouldn't be for yet another few weeks or so. Questions plagued Qui-Gon.

Whether her relationship with Naruto had done something to slow her aging, he knew not, but doubtlessly whatever it was that tethered him here had something to do with this woman.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed softly, glancing from face to face. "Annie said we had company, but-

"Easy, _Cyar'ika_."

Naruto stepped up behind his wife and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, calming Shmi. Qui-Gon didn't need the Force to see that they were a bonded pair but he dipped into it anyway; and nearly staggered from what he found there. He could _feel_ the love they shared for one another, bleeding into the Force, an emotion so powerful it was almost_...tangible._ There were no secrets between these two and yet, when he tried to pry, when he sought to look deeper into the blonde's mind, he had the succinct feeling _he_ was the one being watched...

**"That's deep enough, jedi."**

Qui-Gon froze.

Great crimson eyes hung before him in the blackness. The others had vanished gone, leaving the jedi master hanging somewhere that was both the Force...and not the Force. Those baleful orbs regarded him in silence for a moment longer before he felt it. Movement. The ground shuddered beneath his feet as the beast pawed forward; leaving Qui-Gon Jinn face to face with a beast that could only be described as a giant fox, looming over him as if he were an ant before a giant.

It was massive. An old, ancient, eldritch prescence older than even master Yoda himself.

**"I have suffered only one visitor before you since coming here."** It rumbled. **"A young woman who claimed my host as her mate and has since born him a son. You are not her, nor are you my host's progeny. I suggest you explain yourself, mortal. Quickly." **Row upon row of sharp, glistening teeth shone in the gloom, showering Qui-Gon with warm, fetid breath. **"It would be such a shame were I to make you a smear upon the ground...**

Qui-Gon steeled himself; he was all too aware that this_...entity..._could squash him with a mere thought. The air around this beast was saturated with power. It was a wellspring of emotion and power in the Force…no, a wellspring didn't seem appropriate…a torrent, a tidal wave would perhaps be a better word to describe the power he felt, the energy surging around them.

"Who are you?" he asked.

**"I?"** The kitsune laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound. **"You violated the sanctity of my host's mind without even an inkling of who _I _am?"** The beast drew itself up on its hind paws, glowering down upon the aging jedi master. **"I am the Kyuubi no Yoko. Once, I laid waste to the land known as the Elemental Nations. Men quivered in fear of me! Women and children wept! I was mighty! I was feared!"** Just as quickly as the outburst had come, so too did the almightly fox seemed to deflate. **"Now I am merely an impotent colossus along for the ride. You, however...I sense you do not have the luxury of time as I do." **Its snout crinkled in a old frown. **"Such a shame. You mortals are so fragile, even in _this_ universe."**

"This universe?" Qui-Gon frowned. "What nonesense is this?"

**"Foolish human." **Another laugh, another gust of bloody breathe. **"Do you think your universe, your all-abiding Force, was the only one out there? There are countless others, each more numerous than the last. But I sense you are not so set in your ways as the rest of your kind.**

It reached forward, poking him in the chest with a claw.

**"As a reward for your foolhardy courage, allow me to show you a glimpse of what is to come."**

A cold iciness crept through the Force, pervading his very being and granting him a vision of the future. He bore witness to his own death, struck down by a crimson lightsaber. He watched as war split the galaxy in two and tore everything asunder. He felt pain, terrible pain as thousands of jedi were extinguished in the blink of an eye. And at the end of it a terrifying sight was there to greet him; a man in black armor, a metal monolith forged in the fires of fear and loss and wrath, loosing a bone-shattering cry of:

_"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

His mind reeling, the jedi master closed himself off from the visions, severed himself from the strange crimson entity closing in on him. The Force was a tangle of knots and possibilites, countless futures and possibilities each leading back to the young mandolorian standing across from him. In that instant, he realized what would happen were Uzumaki Naruto to ever vanish from this universe. Chaos. Somehow-someway-this man's fate held countless others in twine; if his life unraveled, so would the fates of many others.

Including his own.

If Naruto noticed how shaken he'd become he did little to show it. The shinobi's gaze held Qui-Gon's for a single, knowing parsec before he began introductions. It took all he had not to balk. Had only a moment passed since his horrific vision? Merely an instant? The thought elicited a small shudder from the jedi. He would have to consult the council, inform them of what he had had seen...

Naruto's voice jarred him back to the present.

"May I introduce Qui-Gonn Jinn, Padme, Jar Jar Binks and-

The R2 made a small beep.

"Now now, I didn't forget you, little one." Naruto chortled. "Artoo-Deetoo, was it?" His grin grew. "I'll have to take you to meet Sparky sometime. She gets so lonely; being cooped up in the ship. Would you like that?"

The droid warbled an affirmative.

"I'm building a droid," Anakin announced quickly, anxious to show Padme his project. "Wanna see?"

"Anakin!" His mother's voice stopped him in his tracks. Resolve tightened her features. "Anakin, why are they _here?"_

He looked at her, confused.

"Naruto invited them, mom." he said this as though it explained everything.

"Is that so?" Shmi arched an eyebrow at her husband; the blond offered a squelching sound in protest.

"Well, hun, there was a sandstorm. Listen."

She glanced at the door, then out the windows. The wind howled past, a river of sand and grit.

"Your husband was kind enough to offer us shelter," Qui-Gon explained. "We met in town." A lie, true enough; he couldn't very well tell her they'd tried to kill each other only a few hours ago now, could he?

"Come on!" Anakin insisted, grabbing Padme's hand once more. "Let me show you my droid." He led Padme toward his bedroom, already beginning a detailed explanation of what he was doing. The girl followed without arguing, listening attentively. R2-D2 went with them, beeping in response to the boy's words. Jar Jar stayed where he was, still looking around, appearing to want someone-anyone-to tell him what to do. A stern glance and a curt word of dismissal on Naruto's part did just that, sending the gungan scurrying after Padme and Anakin.

"Shoo!" The mandolorian ushered the bumbling alien out of the room. "And. Don't. Touch. Anything!"

"But mezza-

"Mezza _shoot_ you if you don't get out of here!" Another growl sent the gungan on his way with a startled yelp. "Scram!"

That left Qui-Gon; the jedi master stood facing the boy's mother and father in awkward silence. Grains of sand beat against the thick glass of the window with a rapid pocking sound. For a time, the three said nothing, a deathly pall seemed to hang over the small, empty room. Finally, Naruto spoke.

"It's not much," Naruto sighed aloud, seemingly reading the jedi's mind, "But hey, its home, ya know?"

"I'm Shmi Skywalker," Shmi found herself following his lead, extending her hand in greeting. "Naruto and I are pleased to have you as our guests."

"Assuming that lass of yours doesn't try to shoot me again." Naruto quipped lightly as touched a hand to his forehead, wincing at the tenderness of his recently healed wound. "Bugger still stings! Say, where'd ya find a crack shot like that, anyway? I've met men twice her age that couldn't shoot like that!"

Qui-Gon had already appraised the situation and determined what was needed. It also gave him an excuse to divert the conversation, to dodge Naruto's unexpected questioning. He reached under his poncho and pulled five small capsules from a pouch in his belt. "I know this is unexpected. Take these. There's food enough for a meal."

Shmi accepted the capsules gratefully. "Thank you." her eyes lifted and lowered again. "Thank you very much. I'm sorry if I was abrupt. I've come to expect these things from Naruto...but I'll never get used to Anakin's surprises, I guess."

"He's a very special boy." Qui-Gon offered.

Shmi's eyes lifted and the look she gave Naruto suggested they shared an important secret.

"Yes," she said softly, smiling. "I know."

She didn't give the jedi master time to dwell on it, however.

"Naruto's told me quite a bit about you." The way she said it implied she knew he was no mere moisture farmer. Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow, struggling to quell the sudden sour taste in his mouth. He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Not too much, I hope?" he tried to keep the concern from his expression; apparently he failed, because Shmi's smile grew another inch.

"You were right, Naruto." she shook her head in mild amazement. "He really does have a terrible sabaac face."

Qui-Gon blanched; because at that very moment, the blonde's laughter rang through the house.

* * *

The storm continued through the remainder of the day, engulfing Mos Espa, sand blown in from the desert piling up against the shuttered buildings, forming ramps aganst doorways and walls, clouding the air, and nigh but shutting out the light.

Shmi used the food capsules Qui-Gon had given her to prepare dinner for them, and at some point Naruto offered to lend his lover a hand. As the pair worked on the meal, and while Padme was occupied with Anakin in the other room, Qui-Gon moved off alone into one corner and surreptitiously contacted Obi-Wan on the comlink. The connection was less than perfect, but they were able to communicate sufficiently for the jedi master to learn of the transmission from Naboo.

"You made the right choice, Obi-Wan," he assured his young protoge, keeping his voice low.

_"The Queen is very upset,"_ the other advised, his response crackling through the storm.

Qui-Gon glanced over to where Shmi was standing at the cook surface, her back turned. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. The blond's abrupt abscence both worried and distracted him; he knew by now it was _never _that wise to let the hyperactive hunter out of his sight for more than a few seconds. He had the scars to prove it. Frowning, he returned his attention-albeit reluctanty-to the comm. "That transimission was bait to establish a trace. I'm certain of it."

_"But what if Govenor Bibble is telling the truth and the Naboo are dying?"_

Qui-Gon sighed. "Either way, we're running out of time," he advised quietly, and ended the transmission.

_Only to find Naruto standing behind him._

The blonde's blue eyes were narrow and intent upon the comlink and in that instant, Qui-Gon knew; he'd heard every single word. Silence hung between them like a naked blade, unsheathed and deadly. Naruto offered the smallest of sighs, raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head. He made no inquiries about the Queen, nor did he ask about the Trade Federation, nor the sorry state, of Naboo. He didn't even accuse Qui-Gon of keeping secrets from him in his own household, though it was well within his rights to do so.

Instead, he merely smiled.

"Time seems to be something we're both running short on, isn't it old friend?"

Without another word, he turned and strode back to the kitchen to help prepare dinner.

Leaving the Jedi Master with his thoughts.

* * *

They sat down to eat Shmi's dinner a short while after, the storm still howling without, an eerie backdrop of sound against the silence within. Qui-Gon and Padme occupied the ends of the table while Anakin, Naruto, Jar Jar and Shmi sat at its sides. Anakin, in the way of small boys, began about life as a slave-in no way embarassed to be doing so-thinking only of it as a fact of his life and anxious to share it with his new friends. Naruto and Shmi, more protective of their son's station, were making a combined effort to help their guest appreciate the severity of their situation.

"All slaves have transmitters placed inside their bodies," Shmi was explaining.

"I've been working on a scanner to try to locate them, but so far...

"No luck." Naruto finished lamely. "The kid's good, but he's not that good. Kami, it would be so much easier if I could just shoot all those _hut'uun_'s for what they did and be done with it...

"Naruto!" Shmi admonished with a glance toward Anakin.

The hunter shrugged sheepishly.

"Sorry, just slipped out."

Anakin giggled at the exchange.

_"Hut'uun_?" Padme blinked, baffled by the exchange; Naruto warmed to the change of topic happily.

"Aye, _Cyar'ika_." He fished a bit of food off his plate and popped it into his mouth. "You've never met a mandolorian before, have you? That's too bad, it is." His scathing sapphire gaze raked over her like hot coals whilst he chewed, then swallowed, whiskered cheeks turning taut in a bright smile. "With a shot like the one you pulled today, ya might make a fine mando yourself. _Mandokarla_! You've got the right stuff!"

Padme's cheeks coloured at his unexpected praise.

Shmi smiled. "It's not often Naruto praises someone so. You must've performed exceptionally well for him to hold you in such high esteem."

The handmaiden darkened further.

"I'm terribly sorry about that."

"You didn't kill me, so consider yourself forgiven!" Naruto laughed it off, but Shmi frowned.

"I..._beg your pardon?"_ she glanced to Qui-Gon for confirmation, but the jedi seemed lost in his drink, leaving it to the hunter to explain just what Padme had done to earn his respect. By the end of that explanation, his lover's approval had turned to outright dismay. Shmi nearly rose from the table, but his hand upon her shoulder stayed her where she sat.

"Easy now love," Naruto shushed in low tone. "It was my own fault. I wasn't paying attention when she got the drop on me. Besides, Annie likes her, remember? Anyone who can shoot like that gets a pass in my bingo book!" This earned him more than a few stares from Padme and the others, but when the blonde refused to elaborate, their conversation gradually drifted back to the subject of slavery once more.

Shmi offered a wan smile when Qui-Go posed a question about the transmitters.

"Any attempt to escape...

...and they blow you up!" Anakin finished. "Poof!"

Jar Jar had been slurping contentedly at his soup, listening with half an ear as he devoured the very tasty broth. He overdid it on hearing this, however, making such a loud noise that he stopped conversation altogether at once. All eyes turned on him momentarily. He lowered his head in embarassment and pretended not to see.

Padme looked back at Shmi. "I can't believe slavery is still permitted in the galaxy. The Republic's antislavery laws should-

"The Republic doesn't exist out here," Shmi interrupted quickly, her voice hard. "We must survive on our own."

There was an awkward silence as Padme looked away, not knowing what else to say. Even Naruto was taken aback by his partner's sudden vehemence.

"Have you ever seen a podrace?" Anakin asked, trying to ease his crush's discomfort.

Padme shook her head no. She glanced at Shmi and Naruto, noting the sudden concern on the woman's smooth face on one hand, the pride on man's visage in the other. JarJar launched his tongue at a morself of food nestled deep in a serving bowl at the far end of the table, deftly plucking it out, drawing it in, swallowing it, and smacking his lips in satisfaction. A disapproving look from Qui-Gon silenced him.

"They have podracing on Malastare," the Jedi Master observed. "Very fast, very dangerous."

Anakin grinned. "I'm the only human who can do it!" A sharp glance from his mother wiped the grin from his face. "Mom, what? I'm not bragging! It's true! Watto says he's never heard of a human doing it. And Naruto, um, Dad," he ammended with a glance at the blond, pursued by a happy flush, "Can't even do it!"

Qui-Gon studied him carefully, quietly filing away the fact that Naruto was the boy's father for later. "You must have jedi reflexes if you race Pods."

Anakin smiled broadly at the compliment. Jar Jar's tongue snaked toward the serving bowl in an effort to snare another morsel, but this time Qui-Gon was waiting. His hand moved swiftly, and in a heartbeat, he had all but secured the Gungan's tongue between his thumb and forefinger. Jar Jar froze, his mouth open, tongue held fast, his eyes wide.

"Don't do that again." Qui-Gon advised, an edge to his soft voice.

Jar Jar tried to say something, but it came out an unintelligible mumble. Qui-Gon released the Gungan's tongue, and it snapped back into place. Jar Jar massaged his billed mouth ruefully.

_"Di'kut." _Naruto murmurred softly from the other end of the table, but there was a touch of amusement in his eyes.

Anakin's young face lifted to older man's, and his voice was hesitant. "I...I was wondering something."

Qui-Gon nodded for him to continue.

The boy cleared his throat, screwing up his courage.

"You're a Jedi Knight, aren't you?"

Naruto gagged on a piece of food and nearly fell out of his seat. Padme couldn't tell whether he was choking or laughing! Likewise Shmi's concern had faded away, her previous frown now replaced with an expression of subtle amusement. Both seemed to know something she didn't. There was a long moment of silence as the man and the boy stared at each other. Neither would yield. Naruto finally swallowed the food he'd nearly killed himself with, folded his arms, and leaned forward expectantly. If the handmaiden didn't

"What makes you think that?" Qui-Gon asked finally.

Anakin swallowed. "I saw your lightsaber. Only Jedi Knights carry that kind of weapon. Well," He risked a backwards glance at his smiling father. "Except Naruto. He must've _really_ impressed you for you to give him one of your lightsabers like that.

Naruto snorted; it seemed to Padme as though he were trying very hard not to laugh. But why?

Qui-Gon duitifully ignored the blond and continued to stare at Anakin. Abruptly, he leaned back slowly in his chair and smiled.

"Perhaps I killed a Jedi and stole it from him."

Anakin shook his head quickly. "I don't think so. No one can kill a jedi. Except Naruto. And he'd never do that."

Qui-Gon's smile faded and a hint of sadness entered his dark eyes.

"Jedi cannot be killed, you say?" he seemed to sigh. "I wish that were so...

"I had a dream that I was a jedi," the boy said quickly, anxious to talk about it now that the subject had finally been broached. "I came back here and freed all the slaves. I dreamed it just the other night, when I was out in the desert." He paused, his young face expectant. "Have you come here to free us?" Everyone else was focused on Anakin, so it was possible that only Padme noticed it; but, at that very instant, Naruto's hands tightened around the edge of the table. She heard him growl something beneath his breath; somehow, Padme didn't need to speak _Mando'a_ to understand it was a curse.

There was an old pain in the young man's face, a pain she recognized and sympathized with. But why would the mention of slavery evoke such a reaction in him unless_...ah! _Something clicked in her mind. Naruto was a bounty hunter. She knew this much already. With the bounties he'd collected, he could've easily been living the good life in a high rise somewhere in Coruscant; instead, he was here, with his family. Because he wanted to _free_ his family, to get them out from the thumb of slavery. It all made sense now! _That _was why this conversation had taken such a pain-filled twist for the hunter...

Qui-Gon Jinn shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not..." he trailed off, hesitating.

"I think you have," the boy insisted, defiance in his eyes. "Why else you be here?"

Shmi was about to say something, to chastise her son for his impudence perhaps, but Qui-Gon spoke first, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I can see there's no fooling you, Anakin." he said. "But you musn't let anyone know about us. We're on our way to Coruscant, the central system in the Republic, on a very important mission. It must be kept secret."

Anakin's eyes widened. "Coruscant?! Wow! How did you end up out here in the Outer Rim?"

"Our ship was damaged," Padme found herself answering him, suddenly desperate to alleviate the tension in the room. "We're stranded here until we can repair it." She glanced at the hunter seated beside her. "Naruto was kind enough to offer us shelter; I'm sure we can repay his services somehow."

Slowly, Naruto's grip relaxed from the table, leaving gouges in the metal. Padme caught a glimmer of his reaction out of the corner of her eye; saw the confusion begin to dawn in his eyes, only to be swiftly swept away by understanding. Stiffly, he straightened from his slouch, as though embarassed to have been caught in such a position to begin with. He muttered a muted word of thanks beneath his breath, and to her initial dismay, Padme felt her cheeks begin to burn. Hurriedly, she returned his gratitude with a nervous nod.

_Sithspit! What's wrong with me?!_

She already knew the answer; in that moment, with the stress gone from his whiskered visage, the hunter had looked almost...handsome. In another life, she might've-_no._ Such thoughts were foolish. Naruto obviously had eyes only for his mate. She'd no desire to intrude. And yet still, she couldn't drive the thought of him from her mind. Not entirely.

"I can help!" The cry came not from the father, but from his son, anxious to be of service to them. "I can fix anything!"

Qui-Gon smiled at his enthusiasm. "I believe you can, but our first task, as you know from our visit to Watto's shop, is to acquire the parts we need."

"Wit nutten ta trade." Jar Jar pointed out sourly.

Naruto thumbed his chin in thought; with him distracted, Padme turned and favored Qui-Gon with a speculative glance.

"These junk dealers must have a weakness of some kind."

Naruto straightened in the same moment Shmi rose and began clearing the table of dishes.

"Gambling," he offered, pausing for his partner to finish his sentence.

"Their only weakness is greed." Shmi confirmed. "Everything in Most Espa revolves around betting on those awful Pod Races."

Qui-Gon rose, walked to the window, and stared out the thick, diffuse glass at the clowds of windblown sand.

"Podracing," he mused. "Greed can be a powerful ally, if it's used properly."

Naruto arched an eyebrow from where he sat.

"Is that really the sort of thing a jedi should be saying?" Abruptly, his eyes brightened with a realization. "Say, Annie...what about that pod of yours?"

"That's right!" Anakin leapt to his feet as though he'd been struck by lightning. "I've built a racer!" he declared triumphantly. His father's face shone with pride as he continued on. "Naruto's been helping me work on it! It's the fastest ever! There's a big race day after tomorrow, on Boonta Eve. You could enter my pod! It's all but finished-

"Anakin, settle down!" his mother said sharply, cutting him short. Her eyes were bright with concern. "Watto won't let you race!"

"Watto doesn't have to know the racer is mine!" the boy replied quickly, his mind working through the problem. He turned back to Qui-Gon. "You could make him think it was yours! Or Naruto's!" He ammended with all but a quick glance at his progenitor. "You could get him to let me pilot it for you!"

The Jedi Master had caught the look in Shmi's eyes. So had Naruto. He met her gaze, silently acknowledged her consternation, and waited patiently for her response.

"I don't want you to race, Annie." his mother said quietly. She shook her head to emphasize her words, weariness and concern reflected in her eyes. "Its awful. I die everytime Watto makes you do it. Every time." Then she turned to regard Naruto-the hunter met her gaze with a stoic stare. "And you shouldn't encourage him, Naruto! What if something happens? What if he gets hurt this time?"

All eyes turned toward the mandolorian. Naruto rolled his shoulders, turned his sapphiric gaze toward his son.

"Maybe your mother's right...?"

Anakin bit his lip. "But. Dad, I love it!" He gestured at Qui-Gon and the others. "And they need our help. They're in trouble. The prize money could more than pay for the parts they need. And yours, too Please!" Try as he might, Naruto couldn't bring himself to voice another objection; one look at Anakin told him the boy was destined to race. It was his god-given talent, and any talent, was better than learning the art of killing. _Have to let him decide for himself...I can't make him choose._

Jar Jar Binks nodded in support.

"We in kinda bad goo."

Qui-Gon walked over to Anakin and looked down at him. "Let's drop the matter." He held the boy's gaze for a moment, then turned back to Naruto. "Do you think your hyperdrive would...?"

"Oh hell no." The blonde interrupted angrily, lurching to his feet. "You are _not _yanking the hyperdrive out of my baby! Not now, not ever! I've put her through enough pain as it is! Besides," he added, suddenly serious, as he laid his armored back against an adjacent wall, "I've made so many modifications to her, spent so much time with her, I doubt she'd take kindly to any ol' stranger ripping her guts out."

"You say that as though she's alive?" Padme frowned.

Naruto grinned secretively, mysteriously.

"Your words sweetheart, not mine."

"Then do you know of anyone friendly to the Republic who might be able to help us?" Qui-Gon asked.

Naruto blanched. Truth be told, he didn't know of any respectable folk on this dustball. He turned his gaze to Shmi.

"Babe?"

Shmi stood silent and unmoving as she thought the matter through. In the end, she shook her head.

"We have to help them, Mom." Anakin insisted, knowing-sensing-he was right about this. "Remember what you said? You said the biggest problem in the universe is that no one helps anyone anymore."

Shmi sighed. "Anakin, don't-

"But you said it, Mom." The boy refused to back down, his eyes locked on hers. Shmi Skywalker made no response this time, her brow furrowed, her body still. Naruto stepped up behind her and laid a comforting hand upon her shoulder. She sighed and leaned into her mate, shoulders drooping in distress beneath her unseen burden.

"I-

"I'm sure Qui-Gon doesn't want to put your son in danger," Padme said suddenly, uncomfortable with the confrontation they had brought about between mother and father and son, trying to ease the tension. "We will find another way...

Shmi looked over at the girl and shook her head slowly. "No, Annie's right. There is no other way." She gave Naruto's hand a tight squeeze. "I may not like it, but he can help you." She paused, considering. "Maybe he was meant to help you." She said it as if coming to a conclusion that had eluded her until now, as if discovering a truth that, while painful, was still obvious.

Anakin's face lit up.

"Is that yes?" He clapped his hands in glee. "That _is _a yes!"

_"Oya!"_ Naruto laughed, his voice a loud roar in the enclosed space. "Lets get started then! We've got work to do!"

* * *

_(Meanwhile)_

"Tatooine is sparsely populated." Darth Maul informed the brooding hologram that was his master, Darth Sidious. "The Hutts rule. The Republic has no prescence. If the trace was correct, Master, I will find them quickly and without hindrance." Yellow eyes glimmered with excitement and anticipation in the strange mosaic of his face as he waited impatiently for a response.

_"Move against the jedi first,"_ Darth Sidious advised softly, his cowled visage betraying nothing, save sheer malevolence, "_Then Menace, should you encounter him. You will then have no difficulty taking the Queen back to Naboo, where she will sign the treaty."_

Darth Maul exhaled sharply. Satisfaction permeated his voice.

"At last we will reveal ourselves to the jedi. At last we will have our revenge."

_"You have been well trained since your last encouncter, my young apprentice."_ Sidious soothed. _"The Jedi will be no match for you. Neither will the Menace, with what I have given you. It is too late for them to stop us now. Everything is going as planned. The Republic will soon be under our control."_

Maul inclined his head to disguise the burning desire hidde there.

"Yes, my master."

The hologram winked out without a sound, leaving him alone.

In the silence that followed, the Sith apprentice could feel a dark heat rise inside his chest and consume him with a furious pleasure. At long last, the hunter had found his prey. Not just those hated jedi, but the Menace as well. He would deal with that man first. He would break him. Make him suffer.

He _would_ have his revenge.

* * *

_(Later that evening...)_

In the home of Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn stood silently at the doorway of the boy's bedroom and watched him sleep. His mother and Padme occupied the other bedrroom, and Jar Jar Binks was curled up on the kitchen floor in a fetal position, snoring loudly.

But Qui-Gon could not sleep. Unconsciousness eluded him, slipping out of his grasp like a slippery eel, whenever he sought it. It was this boy-this boy! There was something about him. The Jedi Master watched the soft rise and fall of his chest as he lay locked in slumber, unaware of Qui-Gon's prescence. The boy was special, he had told Shmi Skywalker and Naruto Uzumaki and they had both agreed. They knew it, too. They sensed it as he did. Anakin Skywalker was different.

Qui-Gon lifted his gaze to a darkened window. The storm had subsided, the wind abated. It was quiet without, the night soft and welcoming in its peace. The gangway of the Konoha lay open; agape, a lone light shining invitingly from within. There was a soft clatter of steel striking steel, reaching his ears. It seemed Naruto couldn't sleep, either. He almost enivied the blond his attachments. They made him strong-lent him power-made him nigh unstoppable in a fight.

Perhaps that was why they'd struck up such an unlikely friendship, the two of them.

The Jedi Master thought for a moment on his own life, reflected upon the ungodly vision he'd been granted earlier in the afternoon. He knew what they said about him at the Council. He was strong, but he dissipated his strength on causes that did not merit his attention. But rules were not created solely to govern behavior. Rules were created to provide a road map to understanding. To the Force. Was it so wrong for him to bend those rules when his conscience whispered to him that he must?

The Jedi folded his arms over his broad chest. The Force was a complex and difficult concept. It was rooted in the balance of all things, and every movement in its flow risked an upsetting of that balance. All jedi sought to keep the balance in place, to move in concert to its pace and will. But the Force existed on more than one plane, and achieving mastery of its multiple passages was a lifetime's work. Perhaps more. He knew his own weakness, Qui-Gon did.

He was too close to the _life_ Force when he should have been more attentive to the _unifying_ Force. He found himself reaching out to those creatures of the present, to those living in the here and now. He had less regard for the past or the future-though the vision was beginning to change that-to the creatures that had or would occupy those times and spaces.

It was the life force that bound him, that gave him heart and mind and spirit.

So it was that he empathized with Anakin Skywalker in ways that other jedi would discourage, finding in this boy a promise he could not ignore. Obi-Wan would see the boy and Jar Jar in the same light-useless burdens pointless projects, unnecessary distractions. Obi-Wan was grounded in the need to focus on the larger picture, on the unifying Force. He lacked Qui-Gon's intuitive nature. He lacked his teacher's compassion for, and all consuming interest in all living things. He did not see that same things Qui-Gon saw.

Qui-Gon sighed. This was not a criticism, only an observation. Who was to say that either of them was the better for how they interpreted the demands of the Force? But it placed them at odds sometimes, and more often than not it was Obi-Wan's position the Council supported, not Qui-Gon's. It would be that way again, he knew. Many times.

But this would not deter him from doing what he believe he must. He would know the truth about Anakin Skywalker and his mysterious progenitor. He would discover their place in the Force, both living and unifying. He would learn who these two, the father and the son, were meant to be.

Minutes later, he found himself striding up the Konoha's ramp. A soft popping sound greeted his ears, indicitave of a fuse being tripped somewhere in the ship.

"No! No, no, _no_! You bucket of bolts! Not like that!"

Another deafening clang rose from the bowels of the _Konoha-_evidently, its owner was hard at work again. Qui-Gon almost reconsidered his attempt to search the blonde out then pressed on, feeling his way through the darkened corridors through the Force. Now that he knew Anakin's father was indeed awake, they were things that needed to be discussed, between the two of them. No more, no less.

"Kami!" The blonde's voice bounced off the walls. "You're incorrigible, you know that?" Another clang. "Why don't you see who just snuck inside?" The Jedi Master was mildly nonplussed to have been detected so easily, but he consented himself to a slow stride as he passed the mess hall, then the cockpit, climbed down a ladder-

He didn't have long to wait.

_"Weeeeeeooooooh!"_

A black and orange astromech droid_-an R2 model if Qui-Gon recalled correctly-_came careening around the corner, wailing its distress, appendages bristling with almost every weapon imaginable known to mankind. The demented droid nearly ran headlong into Qui-Gon before he slowed it with the Force, hoisting the little astromech aloft with a flick of his fingers and holding it steady with a thought.

Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow at the droid's tenacity.

"Sparky, is that Qui-Gon I sense?" Naruto called from the corridor.

The droid bleeped a response; remarkably, the hunter seemed to understand.

"Would you kindly lower my little friend?" his words crackled from a nearby speaker. "She isn't all that fond of heights."

Gently, Qui-Gon lowered the droid to the floor. The R2 unit replied with an indignant warble, then wheeled back from whence it came, bleeting an angry raspberry as it went.

"You'll have to forgive Sparky." Naruto's words grew louder as the Jedi Master probed deeper into the bowels of the ship. "She's awfully protective of me." Rounding a corner, Qui-Gon found himself face to face with the likeness of large, transparisteel door. Sparky could be seen on the other side, aptly-named astromech consenting to comworting words from her owner. Naruto was indeed there, hunched over a workbench as though a dozen galaxies depended upon whatever he was working on. A flick of his hand and a touch of a keypad opened the door, permitting the jedi entry.

Naruto patted Sparky on her domed head, soothingly, and sent her on her way with a kind word. The astromech droid didn't go very far-she seemed intent to keep an eye on Qui-Gon despite the fact that he wished her master no harm.

"It seems I underestimated you." One glance at the weapons lining the walls was more than enough for Qui-Gon to confirm his theory; Naruto was as skilled a hunter as he was a gentle father. "If you'd wielded some of these weapons against me in our last bout, I might possess more than just a few scars...

"Planning to lose another lightsaber?" Naruto glanced up from his work, favored the jedi master with a wry grin, then returned to his task. Curiosity compelled the jedi master to glance over the hunter's shoulder, to see what he was working upon. What he found there...actually surprised him. The contents of the Qui-Gon's old lightsaber lay sprawled out before him in a mess of wires and clived circuitry; even as he looked on, the blond effortlessly took each component and placed it back together with a flawlessness that could only be found with the Force.

_"?"_

"I can't use it for big things without causing a tear somewhere," The jinchuuriki replied, answering the unspoken question, "But this? _This_ I can do just fine." Setting the emitter and locking it in place, he thumbed in the activation switch, depressing the trigger with his thumb. There came an eccletic snap-hiss and a golden blade brighter than the twin suns of Tatooine burst from the shaft. Naruto gave it a percursory swing, and, having gauged the hilt's weight, shut it down and clipped it to his belt.

"Impressive." Qui-Gon noted, the new color of the blade was not lost on him. "In my order, with your skills and technological expertise, you would be considered a Jedi Sentinel."

"Sentinel, eh?" Naruto laughed. "I like the sound of that. Its a shame really; I'm way too attached to my emotions to ever take you up on your offter. But enough about me," He pushed himself off his chair, rising to his full height. "What did you want to talk about?"

The Jedi Master arched an eyebrow, a small smile tugging a this leonine features.

"What makes you think I came here to talk?"

"Qui-Gon," Naruto laughed, "I _know _you. Why else would you be awake at this god awful hour?"

"Because you've been a hero to these people." Qui-Gon shot back, unwilling to reveal his true motive for coming here just yet. "Not just to them, but to your family."

Naruto favored him with a smile, his eyes twinkling.

"We don't have a word for hero. Did you know that? Being prepared to die for your family and friends, for what you hold dear, is a basic requirement for a Mando, so it's not worth a separate word. It's only cowards we had to find a special name for." He settled onto a nearby bench and began to fiddle with his broken helmet, but the jedi master could see his heart wasn't in it. Finally, the shinobi-turned-mandolorian laid down his cold visor and turned his attention to Qui-Gon.

"You want to ask me about Annie." It wasn't a question.

Qu-Gon nodded, taking a seat beside him.

"Whaddya wanna know?"

"Whatever you can tell me." the jedi replied.

"It's funny, ya know?" Naruto laughed, in disbelief. "Until a few hours ago, I didn't even know he was my kid. Oh, I'd always suspected something like that, but knowing..." he pushed a hand through his matted mop of hair, as though he could somehow find the answer there. "That's different, I tell ya." The hunter shook his head, awed. "Godamnit, I'm a father! Can you believe that? I wasn't even there when the kid was born! Annie's lived all these years as a _slave _and the most I've done is visit him._ Visit! _I haven't been able to set him free! Him_...or Shmi!"_

His fist slammed into a bulkhead with enough force to leave a sizeable dent in the metal. Sparky squealed in protest, head tilting this way and that in audible distress.

Naruto blanched.

"Sorry, sparks." he groaned and favored Qui-Gon with a glance. "See? That's the sort of thing I'm talking about. The most I can do is punch or shoot whomever upsets him. That, or scare the piss outta them." He gave the jedi a forlorn look. "What kind of parent does that make me, when I can't even provide for my boy?"

_"A good one."_

"How so?"

Qui-Gon tilted his head in answerment.

"I'm afraid you'll have to discover the answer for yourself. But for now," he rose from the bench and touched a hand to the hilt of his lightsaber in silent challenge. "I believe I could do with a sparring partner, so long as sleep continues to elude the two of us. What say you?" He turned to leave without so much as a backward glance, leaving it to the blonde to decide.

"Heh."

Naruto got up to follow him, and had Qui-Gon seen his face, he would've see the blond's frown twist into a beatific grin. True, his upgraded lightsaber could use a test run. And what better way to burn of his stress, than to spar with its former owner?

_"You're on, old timer!"_

**A/N: LO AND BEHOLD! The truth is out! Anakin _is_ Naruto's son! After all the buildup and that epic cliffy, did you guys really expect me to cockblock you? And...is Shmi prengant again?! From what Qui-Gon saw, that might just be the case! Now that the gang's together, everything seems to be going smoothly. A little too smoothly. Maul's hot on Naruto's trail, and he doesn't care who he has to hurt to get his revenge. And we see Naruto really is reeling from the knowledge that he's a daddy! And who wouldn't?! Qui-Gon's snapped him out of his funk, but there's storm clouds brewing on the horizon as events are set into motion... Just what will happen next!? **

**Stay tuned...to find out, next time, on The Shinobi Menace!**

**So...in the immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY!**

**R&R! =D**


	6. Divergence

**A/N: I RETURN! It's been such a long time since I've touched this story! A very long time! And durig that time, I've had so many different ideas building up inside my head it feels like my brain has been about to burst! I know I've kept you all waiting and since you're probably dying to know what happens next, I'll skip the usual rant. Spoilers ahead; blah blah blah I own _nothing_, everyone is the property of their respective creators and what not. Disclaimer over! As another note we also see an interesting turn of events as things begin to diverge from the main timeline. And with that...**

**...Onto the next chapter! And of course...ENJOY!**

_"Sometimes...anger is the appropriate response."_

_~Naruto._

**Divergence**

Later that night, Naruto had the dreams again.

This time, however, they were different. He did not see Konan or Tayuya. He didn't even see Sakura. Instead he found himself granted a glimpse of the future; a day in which he was fighting for his very life. He was in peril, that much swiftly became clear as he beheld himself, aged nearly twenty three years to the day, clad in full armour, fighting for his life against a young man nearly half his age. But something was wrong. His suit, usually so clean and polished, was faded and worn. Multiple scores in the _beskar_ showed flesh beneath, suggesting they'd been struck so many times, that his opponent's lightsaber had actually burned _through _the iron in places, rendering his defense utterly useless...

* * *

_Sapphire and saffron lightsabers clashed on a burning planet whose name escaped him; his arms were sore and aching, his chakra levels near depleted. Despite this, he fought fast and furiously, utilizing every trick he had ever learned in his career as a shinobi and bounty hunter to stay one step ahead of the owner of that blazing blue blade. And he was losing the fight. Sorrow twisted like a knife in his gut as he struggled to hold his own against this insatiable assailant, unable-unwilling-to bring his full might to bear upon his sith opponent._

_For this man was sith. His eyes, once an expressive brown, now blazed a deep and hateful yellow, a sickly shade of saffron that showed just how twisted his mind had become. Rage emanated from him in waves, a fury so fierce, so powerful that it scalded to the touch._

_Naruto screamed at himself to cut the enemy down before it was too late, but his body refused to obey._

_He could feel the exhaustion in the dream, fouling his concentration, rendering him open to mistakes he normally wouldn't make...even on his worst day. As the nightmare gradually became more and more vivid, more and more lifelike, he felt intense heat warming him from all angles. Wherever he was, it was more than hot. It was scorching. He returned himself to the battle, he could sense that things were drawing to a close. Then the image seemed to blur; when next it cleared, he found himself standing upon a repulsor platform across a river of lava-yes, lava!-facing down his attacker positioned on another such platform._

_"Enough of this, boy!" he felt his mouth move behind the helmet, the words rough with age. "You're not going to kill me, and I don't intend to kill you!"_

_The young man's only response was a furious snarl as he manuvered closer, their sabers clashing once more._

_And then, through the saberlock, Naruto finally caught sight of his attacker's face. He felt no hesitation in his future self, but his current self froze. He was staring into the face of the man his son would one day become, a proud warrior, corrupted by evil. He was looking at..._

_Anakin?!_

_**Vzzhm!**_

_His momentary lapse cost him; sparks sprayed before his vision as the lightsaber seared across his helmet. The HUD sparked feebily and died; even here in the dream, he felt pain as the burning blade slashed an angry line across his forehead and cheek before he could bat it away. Black spots speckled his vision; he nearly lost his balance and plunged backward before he righted himself. Their duel continued across the river of lava, a precarious perch with the two of them trapped upon the platform._

_"I've failed you, son." The words broke his heart as he heard them. "I have failed you." He paused to straighten himself, raising his blade before his visage. "Shimi would weep if she saw you like this."_

_"Don't you," Anakin growled then; deep and low in his throat. "Talk about my mother like that! You betrayed her!"_

_"And what proof do you have of this?" __Naruto's future self scoffed at the baseless accusation, his son's strikes had grown sloppy with rage, they were deflected now as easily as an errant thought. "I was always faithful to your mother, Anakin, never doubt that!" His mind raged to break free from the dream-or was it a vision-but to no avail, no amount of pain of sorrow could tear him away from the scene playing out before him. "You can't blame me for moving on!"_

_"Be quiet!" Anakin raged at him. "I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!"_

_Their blades blurred against the lava, colliding then separating, colliding again. Naruto was amazed at himself; in the dream his body moved with a fluid skill he lacked in the here and now. As their battle wore on he did the unthinkable, parrying strikes with one hand, his fencing style gave him an distinct advantage over the brawling, brute force style, his child favored. And it showed. The anger that'd first drove Vader at the beginning of their duel was slowly destroying him as the battle wore on, leaving his form open to more and more mistakes. Whereas Naruto became more and more resigned, giving himself to the Force as exhaustion struggled to claim him, supplanting himself with a strength he daren't call upon. Until now._

_"Listen to yourself!" The dream Naruto spat as they broke apart, his tone strident. "You've allowed this dark lord to twist your mind..._

_"Shut up."_

_...until you've become the very thing..._

_"Shut up!"_

_...I always feared you would be!"_

_"SHUT UP!"_

_Anakin reached out to silence him with the force and his face twisted with the strain of the effort; it was like trying to strangle a marble statue. Naruto could feel the sheer force behind the effort in his dream as his son-his own flesh and blood-tried to choke the life out of him, and it broke his heart. He felt the Force gather in his body as he reached out, pinching his son's windpipe, denying him air, just for an instant. Vader faltered, as the air left his lungs, as his face began to purple, as veins imploded in his eyes-_

_He couldn't do it._

_Naruto let go of the Force and let Anakin toppled back to the platform, even as the energy urged him to finish what he started. He couldn't do it. He could not end his own son._

_"I hate you!" Anakin roared, swinging wildly with his saber. "I should've known you were plotting to take Padme from me!"_

_"Wake up, Annie!" Naruto hissed as he parried another strike, resuming their deadly dance of death once more. "I did no such thing! You drove her to me with your madness! Sidious is manipulating you! He has been from the very beginning! Can't you see that now?! I've had no part in it! You've let your feelings run away with you; you've orchestrated your own downfall! Don't you understand?! Sidious is evil!"_

_"From my point of view, you're the one's who's evil!"_

_Naruto spat at him._

_"Well then, you are lost!"_

_**"I SAID SHUT! UP!"**_

_Anakin lunged at him then, but apparently this aged Naruto knew better than to take the bait._

_Naruto watched his future self step backwards and fly to safety; the thrusters of his jetpack carrying him clear of his son's lightsaber with the last of its fuel, freeing him from the restrictive confines of the repulsores platform and carrying him to the rocky shore. He alighted heavily upon the bank, ripped the helmet from his head, and turned to face his progeny, exposing a sweat-slicked visage to the world; his now bearded face twisting in a grimace of fresh pain against the scar marring his visage._

_"It's over, son!" he declared, shouting down at Anakin. "I have the high ground!"_

_Anakin-no, **Darth Vader** glowered up at him, eyes blazing against the lava's glow._

_"You underestimate my power, old man!"_

_With impending horror, Naruto realized what his only son was about to do. It was a mistake he'd made many a time in his youth; letting the anger get the better of him. He watched his stance slip, muscles tense in preparation of a monumental leap. Straight at him._

_"Annie," his voice broke on the word, knowing full well the foolish mistake his son was about to make. "Don't try it!"_

_Too late._

_ Vader gave a leaping lunge, his lightsaber flaring an unholy red in the lava glow, and then-_

* * *

Naruto woke with a start.

Heart hammering he struggled upright, gasping for breath. Cold sweat slicked his body, leaving him damp.

"Dreams again?"

The blond turned his head, momentarily alarmed to find himself inside his bunk aboard the _Konoha,_ the covers a tangled mess around their feet. Their? _Wait. _That surprise became a pleasant one once he realized Shmi Skywalker was laying there beside him, her legs tangled in his, her youthful face peering up at him with an understanding he didn't deserve. She'd exchanged her day clothes for a simple white shift, one that left all her curves tantalizingly accentuated, one that also left little to his imagination. Her hair had since been freed from the bun she'd worn earlier this morning, freeing her auburn tresses to cascade down her back and frame at her face in a tide of dark brown, tempting him with her scent.

Naruto blinked, struggling to recall how he'd got here. He vaguely recalled returning here after sparring with Qui-Gon...but the rest remained a blur. He must've fallen asleep, at some point. Waking to find that she was here beside him_-that she'd left the hut and snuck aboard just to see him-_was almost enough to banish these old fears of his.

Almost, but not quite.

"Something like that," he admitted, touching a hand to his face, absently feeling where the scar should have been. Already, the memories of the dream was fading. There were so many questions. Why had Anakin gone dark? Who was Sidious? What role did Padme have to play in all of this? How, had he been able to use the Force in his dream? And why, did he suddenly have the terrible feeling he was going to lose the only woman in this universe he'd ever truly loved? He gazed at her, as if he could somehow capture this moment in his mind and preserve it there. Forever.

"I worry about him." Naruto admitted, "Annie, I mean. He's a good kid, don't get me wrong, but the dreams...

Shmi didn't say anything as she lay there; she didn't ask him if he wanted to talk about it, didn't pester him for details. Instead she simply scooted closer and wrapped her arms around him, allowing him to drink in her prescence, to bask in her warmth. Naruto shivered at her touch, suddenly aware just how close she was, how little she wore. Not only that, but also...how much he loved her. This wonderful, gorgeous, beautiful woman in his arms; the light of his life, mother of his child, and the center of his universe.

Naruto sighed and ran his fingers through her hair in slow, circular motions, occupying his mind as best he could. Shmi smiled and turned toward his touch, her cheek brushing against his just in time for him to kiss her on the nose. She snuggled closer to him, making no secret of her desire for him; her fingers working at the leather straps of his vest.

"Did I ever mention how much I love you?" Naruto sighed with a bliss he truly felt.

Shmi's smile grew another inch as she helped him out of the cumbersome jacket.

"Yes, but tell me anyway."

"I love you." he whispered, stroking her hair, then the small of her back through the soft fabric of the shift. "Adore you. I swear, if I didn't have someone like you, I'd be lying facedown in a gutter somewhere right now, ya know? Okay," he ammended at her amused expression, "Not the best way to turn you on, I know. But how about _this?"_ He drew her close and pulled her into a soul-searing kiss, tongue probing at her lips, asking for entry, entry she gladly gave.

_"Mmm."_ Her blood vibrated at his touch.

"How does Coruscant sound?" the question was sudden as they pulled away, wiping the arousal from her face with the inquiry. "When we're free, we can't just stay here, ya know."

Shmi pretended to think about the question, shook her head no.

"I'd prefer someplace remote."

"Mandalore, then."

Shmi looked at him oddly.

"Mandalore." she repeated, frowning. "Isn't that where you were trained by Jango?"

"Yeah." Naruto admitted, well aware of the weight of her gaze upon him.

"Problem?"

"No, not a problem." his mate shook her head. "It's just, I've been thinking, lately."

"Of?"

_"Letting you train Annie."_

A beatific smile blossomed on the blonde's face. He didn't care to ask why; all that mattered was that they'd finally cleared the one and only obstacle in their relationship; the decision to let Naruto train Anakin as he'd been trained. With that gone, the jinchuuriki felt such joy blossom in his chest that he couldn't help himself. Nor could he be blamed for what he did next.

"It's official." he decided, thumbing Shmi's chin up to meet his.

"What is?" she purred, her lips brushing his.

_"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."_

"What does that mean?"

Naruto smiled and kissed her again.

"That I fucking _love_ you."

_She_ kissed _him_ then, and there were no more words between them that night. Naruto gave no more thought to the eerie vision he'd had; because, he was determined to prevent it, no matter the cost. He would not let his son become that monster he'd fought in the dream. He would not allow Shmi to die, either. He would find a way off this planet for them, Watto and Jabba be damned. He would protect them. Both of them.

Even if it cost him his life.

* * *

As it turned out, Watto was easily swayed. Funny how persuasive a blaster in one's face could be. Wagering their ship as goods, they were able to gain entry to the Boonta Race, much to Naruto's charign. The blond did not say it aloud, but Qui-Gon could tell: the father had serious reservations about his son's racing. All that seemed to fade away once father and son set to work on the pod; Naruto created a couple of clones to help the job along, and Anakin soon began pestering his father to learn the technique.

Finally wearing each other down, father and son laughed and set to work on their pod; even with the clones, they worked together in such tandem it seemed almost uncanny.

While Anakin and his helpers were thus engaged, Qui-Gon mounted the back porch of the Skywalker home, glanced around to make certain he was alone, and switched on the comlink to contact Obi-Wan. His protege answered immediately, anxious for a report, and Qui-Gon filled him in on what was happening.

"If all goes well, we will have our hyperdrive generator by tomorrow afternoon and be on our way," he concluded.

Obi-Wan's silence was telling. _"What if this plan fails, Master? We could be stuck here for a long time."_

Qui-Gon Jinn looked out over the squalor of the slave quarters and the roofs of the buildings of Mos Espa beyond, the suns a bright glare overhead. He couldn't help but feel that they'd landed here for a purpose, that the Force itself was trying to tell him something. But what? When nothing came to him, he returned his attention to the comlink. "A ship without a power supply willl get us nowhere," he answered his apprentice, very much aware of how terse he sounded. We have no choice."

He switched off the comlink and tucked it away.

"And there is something about this boy," he whispered to himself, leaving the thought unfinished.

Shmi Skywalker appeared through the back door and moved over to join him; Qui-Gon acknowledged her with a nod. Together they stood watching the activity in the courtyard below, observing father and son as they doggedly worked on the battered podracer.

"You should be proud of your son," Qui-Gon said after a moment. "He gives without any thought of reward."

Shmi nodded, a smile flitting over her smooth face. "He knows nothing of greed. Only dreams. He has...

"Special powers."

The woman glanced at him warily.

"Yes."

"He can see things before they happen," the jedi master continued, "That's why he has such quick reflexes. It is a Jedi trait."

Her eyes were fixed on him, and he did not miss the glimmer of anger that shone there.

"He deserves better than a slave's life," she said quietly.

Qui-Gon kept his gaze directed out at the courtyard. "The Force is unusually strong in hm, that much is clear. I believe I already know the answer to this question, but...who is his father?"

There was a long pause, long enough for the Jedi Master to realize he had asked a question she was not prepared to answer. He gave her time and space to deal with the matter, not pressing her, not making it seem as if it were necessary she answer at all.

"Naruto is Annie's father," she said finally. She shook her head slowly, her eyes distant. "But it was strange. I knew I was carrying his son after our first night together. I don't know how else to explain it. I wasn't even pregnant for a full nine months, when I carried him; I gave birth so early, I was fraid he might..." she deliberately cut herself off before resuming, her words steely. "I raised him. I knew he was going to be special-that he was meant to do great things, from the moment I first held him in my arms. I can't tell you anymore than that. I just knew." She laid a hand upon her flat stomach, touching the first stirrings of life within. "Just as I know now that I'm with his child again." She smiled, faintly, stroking her stomach. "It will be a girl this time, I think." As swiftly as it had come, her joy faded.

"But...Naruto...I know him. He can't bear the thought of me having another child in slavery. And he doesn't have enough money to free the both of us, Annie and I. That makes him desperate. And if he's desperate, he might do something reckless to free us. Something that will get him killed." Her eyes welled with unshed tears. "I don't want this child to grow up without a father like Annie almost did."

Qui-Gon arched an eyebrow. It shouldn't be possible for her to be aware of the life stirring within her womb, only a few days after its conception. Did Anakin's mother also have some semblance of the Force? And if so... what did that bode for them? They were such a remarkable family, the Skywalkers.

Shmi touched his arm then, drawing his eyes to meet hers.

"Can you help us?"

Qui-Gon was silent for a long time, thinking. He felt an attachment to Anakin Skywalker he could not explain. In the back of his mind, he sensed he was meant to do something, not just for this boy, but for his family as well. That it was necessary he try. But Jedi were identified within the first six months of birth, and given over to their training. It was true for him, for Obi-Wan, for everyone he'd ever known, or ever heard about. There were no exceptions.

_Can you help us? _He did not know how that was possible; or what-if anything-he was meant to do.

"I don't know," he told her, keeping his voice gentle, but firm. "I didn't come here to free slaves. Had your son been born in the Republic, we would have identified him early, and he might have become a Jedi. And your husband is much the same. They each have the way. I'm not sure what I can do for them."

_"Oya!"_ Naruto's defiant shout reached their ears from the courtyard, demanding attention. "Give it a try, Annie! I think we finally got it!"

Flames exploded from the podracer's afterburners, and a huge roar rose from the Randon-Ulzers, building steadily in pitch until Anakin eased off on the thrusters, then settled back into a throaty rumble. Cheers rose up from Naruto, Padme, and the other spectators and Anakin waved his hand in response.

Shmi Skywalker nodded in resignation, but her face revealed, beneath the mask of acceptance, a glimmer of hope.

* * *

"Ow!"

Anakin gasped as he cut himself on a sharp piece of metal as he clamored out of the pod, opening a thin slice on his finger. Before he could react, Naruto was there. Not hovering over him, as a protective parent might, rather, admiring him and his stubborn refusal to cry out despite the fact that the tiny cut on his finger must've certainly stung. He reached a large hand down to muss his sandy-blonde hair, drawing a sniffle from Annie as he tended to the injury.

"Atta boy." He chided something else softly in mandolorian, helping his son from the pod. "You really are a trooper, aint'cha?"

"You said so yourself; men don't cry." Anakin bit his lip stubbornly, wincing as Naruto applied some bacta spray to the wound, cringing as it stung.

"I did, didn't I?" Naruto sighed.

Anakin grinned as his father set him down. He still couldn't believe this man was his father. His father! He actually had a father. It all made sense now, Naruto's constant doting on him, why he constantly came back to Tatooine-when he could've easily been anywhere else in the galaxy. It also explained things with his mother. Why they were so incredibly close.

"By the way, I got a surprise for ya." Naruto grinned, breaking the boy from his reverie. "Your mother finally saw the light!"

Anakin blinked wordlessly, utterly baffled.

"Ummm...what?"

Naruto barked out a laugh and plunged a hand into one of the many pockets on his vest. "Catch!" Withdrawing a scroll, he proferred it to the boy, the item spiraling end over end as it passed from father to son. Anakin tried to snatch at it with fumbling fingers, almost dropped it. Frowning, he opened it, unfurling its contents, idly thanking his father for teaching him the native language of Japanese. His eyes got huge as he peered into it, deciphere its contents, understood exactly what it was that he was looking at.

"You mean...?"

Naruto grinned a megawatt grin.

"She's gonna let me train ya, kid! So whaddya say? You still up for it?"

There was a silence; then:

_"YES!"_

Naruto roared out a laugh and swept out his progeny off his feet and into his arms.

"That's my boy!"

Padme watched the scene wordlessly, her eyes distant and sad.

* * *

Darkness cloaked Mos Espa in deepening layers as night descended. Anakin sat quietly on balcony rail of his back porch while Qui-Gon studied that very same cut on his hand,the one Naruto had treated. Annie was sure it wasn't infected, but it _had _started bleeding again sometime during the afternoon's prep work on the Podracer, and in typical boy fashion, he hadn't even noticed it until now.

Anakin gave the injury a cursory glance as the Jedi prepared to clean it, then leaned back to up at the blanket of stars in the night sky.

"Sit still, Annie." Qui-Gon instructed.

The boy barely heard him. "There are so many! Do they all have a system of planets?"

"Most of them." Qui-Gon produced a clean piece of cloth.

"Has anyone been to all of them?"

Qui-Gon laughed. "Not likely."

Anakin nodded, still looking up. "I want to be the first one then, the first to see them all-ouch!"

Qui-Gon wiped a smear of blood from the boy's arm, then applied some antiseptic.

"There, good as new."

"Annie! Bedtime!" Shmi called out from inside in the same moment that Qui-Gon produced a comlink chip and wiped a sample of Anakin's blood onto its surface. The boy leaned forward interestedly, fascinated by what the Jedi Master was up to.

"What are you doing?"

The Jedi barely looked up. "Checking your blood for infections."

Anakin frowned. "I've never seen-

"Annie!" This time it was _Naruto_ not Shmi, who called out, more insistent this time, emerging onto the porch. "There you are. Didn't you hear your mother calling you...?" The bounty hunter arched an eyebrow when he saw Qui-Gon on the porch, but if he found anything amiss with what the Jedi was doing, he didn't seem to be in any hurry to admit it.

"Go on," Qui-Gon urged Anakin, gesturing to the doorway. "You have a big day tomorrow." He tucked the cloth into his tunic and turned toward Naruto. "Doesn't he?"

"That's right, son." Naruto placated, ushering his progeny toward the door. "Don't worry; I'll be by to tuck you in, in a bit. If you're patient, I might even tell you about that trip I made to Dathomir...

The boy's eyes shone with renewed interest; there was nothing he loved more than a bedtime story.

"Really?"

Naruto nodded.

_"Really."_

Anakin hesitated, his eyes fixed on the Jedi Master, intense and questioning. Then he turned and darted off into his home, his footsteps were soon lost within the hovel. Qui-Gon waited a moment, making certain Naruto wasn't about to protest, that Anakin had truly gone to bed. Then, and only then did he turn to face the blond hunter. He held another comlink in his hand, a backup in case of an emergency. He'd never imagined a need for it, but he was suddenly thankful he'd brought it along regardless.

"I'd like a sample of your blood as well, if you don't mind."

"To check for an infection." Naruto's deadpan was barely concealed. "Cut the crap, _ner vod._ You know damn well I don't get sick. What's this really for?" From what little Qui-Gon knew of the Mandolorian language there had just been an implicit declaration of trust on the blonde's part. Naruto had just called him, in no uncertain terms, a brother in arms. The notion was humbling. That the shinobi trusted him this much staggered him. A unspoken bond had formed between them since the moment they met, and the jedi had done nothing to question it so far.

"I wish to run a midi-chlorian test on it."

Naruto frowned.

"You know I can't use the Force in excess without causing chaos." Qui-Gon was suddenly brought to recall the sudden sandstorm_...yesterday afternoon._ It had come up out of nowhere, and only shortly after Naruto had attacked their little band. Was that storm a result of Naruto using the Force? Or merely a natural phenomenon? One could only wonder...

"Even so, I would still like to know."

"Whatever you say, bub."

Naruto shrugged and raised a finger to his mouth, bit down. Hard. A droplet of blood leaked between his teeth; Qui-Gon caught in on the chip of the backup comlink. He then slipped the chip with the boy's blood sample into a relay slot in the first comlink, followed by Naruto's in the second and called Obi-Wan aboard the queen's transport.

_"Yes, Master?"_ his protege responded, despite the lateness of the hour.

"I'm transmitting a pair of blood samples," Qui-Gon advised, glancing at Naruto guardedly as he spoke. "Run a midichlorian test on it."

He sent the blood readings through the comlink to Obi-Wan and stood waiting in silence. He could feel the beating of his heart, quick and excited. If he was right about this...

_"Master,"_ Obi-Wan interrupted his musings. _"There must be something wrong with these samples."_

Qui-Gon took a slow, deep breath and exhaled softly. "What do the readings say, Obi-Wan?"

_"They say the boy's midi-chlorian count is twenty thousand."_ There was a slight quiver in the youth's tone when next he spoke._ "The man's...Master, its at least **five **times that amount."_ The younger jedi's voige rose an octave in alarm, tightening with surprise and distress._ "No one has a count that high. Not even Master Yoda."_

Naruto whistled. "I take it that's a good thing?"

_"Master, is someone there?"_ Obi-Wan asked.

Qui-Gon wasn't listening.

_No one. _Qui-Gon stood staring out into the night, staggered by the immensity of his discovery. Then he let his gaze wander back to the hovel where the boy was sleeping, and stiffened. Shmi Skywalker stood just inside the doorway, staring at him. Their eyes met, and for just an instant it felt to the Jedi Master as if the future had been revealed to him, in its entirety. Then Shmi turned away, embarassed, and disappeared back into her home. Her gaze caught Naruto's and held it, and in her gaze Qui-Gon saw an unspoken demand for the blonde to retire as well.

"See ya in the morning, _ner vod."_ Naruto laughed, clapping him on the arm as he brushed past and stepped indoors. "Don't worry; my boy will win this thing! Oya!" With that, he stepped across the threshold, wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and allowed himself to be led inside, but not before he got one last word in edgewise!"

_"Aliit ori'shya tal'din, ner vod!"_

Qui-Gon blinked; Naruto laughed a this confusion.

"Family is more than blood, my friend! Remember that!" And with that he was gone, leaving the Jedi Master alone, silhouetted against the setting suns.

Qui-Gon paused a moment, then remembered the open comlink.

"Good night, Obi-Wan," he said softly, and clicked the transmitter off.

The vision he'd had yesterday prickled at him, demanding his attention. He felt a sudden urge to follow Naurto, to reveal to him what he had seen, but something held his tongue at the last instant. It was as if the Force itself prevented him from speaking of what he'd witnessed. There was something about Anakin Skywalker and his father, Uzumaki Naruto. Something he was missing. Something incredible. Their massive Midi-cholorian counts only lent confirmed these suspicions.

Ironically, his mind gravitated back to Naruto's words. _Ner vod._

From what Qui-Gon knew of the Mandolorian language, he'd just been referred to as family.

As a friend.

A slight smile tugged at his lips as he too, stepped inside; whatever mysteries the Force had in store for him, they could wait until tomorrow. He found this thoughts drifting as he found and empty bed and laid down, all too swiftly sleep came to claim him. Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day of the race, upon which all their fates hung. And if something somehow went awry, well, Naruto had a contingency plan in store for them; a plan that involved the deaths of notorious gangster Jabba the Hutt and other scum that would undoubtedly put an end to his illustrious bounty hunting career.

Qui-Gon sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that. Naruto's livelihood was one his family relied upon. But one way or another, with or without his help, Anakin and Shmi Skywalker _would_ have their freedome. Who knew what lay in store for them beyond that. Perhaps their paths would diverge. Perhaps not. Either way...

_...tomorrow would change everything._

**A/N: LO AND BEHOLD! Events are reaching a climax... Just what will happen next!? It's not exactly a wise idea to underestimate Naruto...**

**Stay tuned...to find out, next time, on The Shinobi Menace!**

**So...in the immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY!**

**Translations:**

**_Aliit ori'shya tal'din_ - "Family is more than blood."**

**_Ori'jate_ - "Very good"**

**_Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum_ - "I love you."**

**R&R! =D**


	7. Freedom

**A/N: I RETURN! It's been such a long time since I've touched this story! A very long time! And durig that time, I've had so many different ideas building up inside my head it feels like my brain has been about to burst! I know I've kept you all waiting and since you're probably dying to know what happens next, I'll skip the usual rant. Spoilers ahead; blah blah blah I own _nothing_, everyone is the property of their respective creators and what not. Disclaimer over! As another note we also see an interesting turn as events continue to diverge from the main timeline and we FINALLY GET OFF TATOOINE! And with that...**

**...Onto the next looooong chapter! And of course...ENJOY!**

_"I have waited a **long** time for this...my little blue friend!"_

_~Naruto._

**Freedom**

And so the day of the race came.

Preparations were made, prayers were mumbled in hushed tones, last minute checks performed just before dawn by Naruto and R2-D2. By the time morning finally came everyone was already awake; doing everything in their power to prepare, silently placing all their hopes upon the shoulders of this young boy. A clear, bright, early morning sky promised good weather for the Boonta Eve. It was, Anakin Skywalker thought to himself, a good day to race.

A good day indeed.

The Podracer hung level before him on its antigrav lifts, freshly painted and gleaming in the new day's sunlight. R2-D2 and Sparky_-the latter having reluctantly emerged from the Konoha at her master's behest-_bustled about with a brush and a can of paint, completing the final detailing of the craft. C-3P0, still missing most of his outer skin_-his working parts clearly visible_-followed along, pointing out missed patches, giving unsolicited opinions and bits of advice.

In the end, the boy found himself drawn to Padme. She was standing apart from the others, seemingly lost, in her own thoughts. She seemed almost...sad. Anakin took it upon himself to cheer her up. Approaching her slowly, so as not to startle her, he reached up and tugged at her sleeve. Padme blinked in surprise.

"Looks nice, doesn't it?" he gestured, indicating the pod.

The handmaiden nodded slowly, slowly coming out of her world.

"You shouldn't be so gloomy. Try smiling more often!" he suggested, pulling at his lips with a hand. "Like this, see?"

That did it; the slightest of smiles tugged at her lips. She giggled and turned to face him.

"Do you think I'll win?" he asked, self-consciously.

"I don't think you'll win," Padme shook her head, her words causing his spirits to win. What she said next sent them soaring. "I know you will; because I have faith in you, Annie."

Anakin's face flushed.

"Gee, thanks-

_"Annie!"_

The sharp wheeze of an eopie brought him around to find Naruto riding toward them on the first of two beasts he had commandeered to help haul the Podracer to the arena. His father's face was aglow with expectation and his body as well, clad nearly from head to toe in his full suit of resplendent mandolorian armor, glittering in the light of the twin suns, helmet tucked beneath an arm. He waved at Anakin, as he approached. Caught in the glare of the suns, his son squinted back at him and returned the wave all too eagerly. He didn't need his mysterious sixth sense to tell him his mother was behind him, staring at Naruto as well; he already knew; just as a small, angry part of him, also knew that Padme wasn't looking at _him _anymore, she was gazing at his progenitor with more than a hint of awe on her part.

This was what Anakin Skywalker wanted to be when he grew up; not a bounty hunter, nor a jedi, rather, a hero. Someone who commanded not just respect, but fear as well. If you were feared, then no one would ever dare to raise a hand against you. This was the unspoken-if unintentional-lesson he had learned from his father long ago. No one messed with him. No one dared insult him, not even behind his back. Anyone fool enough to think otherwise found themselves picking their teeth-or whatever passed for them-out of the street with broken fingers.

"Are you ready for this, boy?" Naruto slung himself out of the saddle and alighted upon the sands with a practiced ease, his booted feet thudding harshly against the desert floor. Shmi came to greet him with a kiss, one the blond was equally swift to return. He pulled her close and she leaned into him without resistance, completely and utterly trusting in her husband. Naruto might have a heavy hand when it camr to dealing with riffraff but when it came to his family, he was as gentle as a morning breeze.

"Are we all set?" he asked.

Anakin was suddenly reminded of one more reason to win this afternoon; he wanted to make his parents proud. Yet, there was another reason. Yes, he wanted them to shower him with praisie...but more than anything he wanted to make Padme proud, too. If he came out on top today surely she'd respect him. Maybe then, that small, angry part of him groused, she'd finally stop looking at Naruto and start looking at him. The thought was small and petty, one he dismissed initially, but it lingered nontheless.

"Annie?"

Anakin nodded fiercely.

"Hook 'em up!" He turned back to Padme, a thought suddenly occurring. "Where's Qui-Gon?"

The girl gestured. "He left with Jar Jar for the arena. They've gone to find Watto."

Anakin sprinted to his bedroom to wash and dress.

* * *

Qui-Gon Jinn strolled through the main hangar of Mos Espa Podracer arena, glancing at the activity about him with seemingly casual interest. The hangar was a cavernous building that housed Podracers and equiptment year round and served as a staging area for vehicles and crews on race days. A handful of racers were already in place on the service pads-dozens of aliens who had found their way to Tatooine from every corner of the known galaxy crawling all over the Pods and engines as pit bosses and and pilots shouted instructions.

The clash and shriek of metal on metal echoed in an earsplitting din through the hangar's vast chamber, forcing conversations to be held at something approaching a shout.

Jar Jar hugged one shoulder of the Jedi Master while Watto buzzed close by the other. The former was normal fretful, nervous self, eyes rolling on their stalks, head twisting this way and that with such frantic concern it seemed certain it must twist off soon altogether. Watto flew with blatant disregard for everything but his own conversation, which rambled on and on, covering the same points edlessly.

"So it must be understood clearly that our bargain is sealed, outlander," he repeated for at least the third time in the last ten minutes. His blue-snouted head bobbed with emphasis. "I'll want to see your spaceship the moment the race is over." He made no bones about the fact that he believed that gaining lawful possession of the royal Naboo transport was only a matter of time. He had not once since Qui-Gon had found him at the betting booths suggested otherwise, a fact Qui-Gon was counting on.

Over the last few days he'd gained an incredible understanding of just how the toydarian's mind worked. Watto was motivated by greed, and greed alone held the key to their salvation. He sorely hoped this plan worked itself out; because Naruto's contingency plan involved an astronomical body count. And who could blame him? The blond had acted honourably in his agreement with Watto over the last nine years...only for pudgy alien to cheat him-or so they both believed-at perhaps the very last instant by sabotoing his engine. The bounty hunter was out for blood, and only victory in today's race could possibly quell the bloodbath he had planned for Watto and nearly every other criminal/gangster in Mos Espa.

"You aren't thinking about reneging on our deal, are you?" Watto peered at him with a narrow gaze, mistaking his silence for regret.

The Jedi Master demurred with a shrug. "Patience, my blue friend. You'll have your winnings before the suns set, and my companions and I will be far away from here."

"Not if your ship belongs to me, I think!" Watto snorted, and gave a satisfied laugh. Just as quickly, his sharp eyes fixed on the Jedi. "I warn you, no funny business!"

Qui-Gon kept walking, his gaze directed elsewhere, carefully baiting the hook he had set for the Toydarian.

"You don't think Anakin will win?"

Watto flew around in front of him and brought them all to a stop. Wings beating furiously, he motioned to a bright orange racer parked close at hand, its engines heavily modified, so that when the twin energy binders were activated and the engines joined, they formed a distinctive X-shape. Sitting to one side of the racer was the Dug who had attacked Jar Jar two days earlier, Sebulba, his wide eyes fixed on them, his slender limbs drawn up in a vaguely menacing gesture. A pair of lithsome Twi'leks worked diligently massaging the Dug's neck and shoulders.

The Twi'leks were humanoid aliens from the planet Ryloth; they had pointed teeth, smooth blue skin, and twin tentacles that draped gracefully from their hairless heads down their silken backs. Theiry red eyes lifted to Qui-Gon momentarily, interest flicking in their depths. They exchanged a significant glance with one another, an unspoken thought travelling between them. One drew herself up as if to speak-

_"Keepuna!"_ The Dug barked harshly, causing both women to flinch before renewing their ministrations in earnest. The Jedi Master was suddenly reminded of Jedi Knight, Aayla Secura; were she here, she most likely be seeting with anger to see her species debased in such a way. Were Naruto here, he'd probably have flayed Sebulba alive for such behaviour. With his bare hands.

Come to think of it, Aayla had once mentioned meeting Naruto once before...?

Watto snorted, drawing him from his musings. "Don't get me wrong," he announced, shaking his head in an odd cocking motion. "I have great faith in the boy. He's a credit to your species." His snaggle-toothed mouth tightened. "But Sebulba there is going to win, I think."

"Oh?" Qui-Gon pretended to study the Dug carefully, quelling a very_ un-jedi-like_ urge to strange the Dug via the Force when the alien reared up and slapped one of the Twi'leks on the rear. "Why?"

"Because he always wins!" The Toydarian broke into a fit of laughter, consumed by his own cleverness. "I'm betting heavily on Sebulba!"

"I'll take that bet," Qui-Gon said at once.

Watto stopped laughing instantly, jerking away as if scalded by hot oil.

"What?" He shook his head in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

Qui-Gon advanced a step, backing the Toydarian away.

"I'll wager my new racing pod against..." He trailed off thoughtfully, letting Watto hang. "Against, say, the boy and his mother."

Watto was aghast. "A pod for slaves?! I don't think so!" The blue wings were a blur as he flitted this way and that, head cocked. "Well, perhaps. Just one. The mother, maybe. The boy isn't for sale."

Qui-Gon frowned. "The boy is small," He knew Naruto would never forgive him if he didn't press the advantage here, "He can't be worth much."

Watto shook his head decisively.

"For the fastest Pod ever built?"

Watto shook his head again.

"Both, or no bet."

They were standing near the front entry to the hangar, and the noise of the crew work had lessened. Beyond, the arena stands rose against the desert sky, a vast, curved complex complete with boxes for the Hutts, a race announcers booth, course monitoring equiptment, and food stands. Already the stands themselves wer beginning to fill, the population of Mos Espa turning out in full force for the events, shops and stalls closed, the city on holiday. Bright streamers and banners flew, and approaching racers flamed with reflection of sunlight and polish.

Qui-Gon caught sight of Anakin appearing through the crowds, riding an eopie with Padme up behind him, towing one of the massive Radon-Ulzer engines. His father followed on a second eopie, towing the other engine as if it weighed no more than a feather. The eopies themselves were gangly, long-snouted pack animals with tough, leathery skin and short fur particularly wellsuited to resisting the Tatooine desert heat. R2-D2, Sparky and C-3PO trailed the little procession with the pod and Shmi.

The Jedi Master deliberately turned to watch their approach, drawing Watto's gaze after his own. The Toydarian's eyes glittered at the sight of the boy and the racer, only to narrow when they saw his progenitor. Naruto was a sight to be seen in his armour, his face hidden from view by the distinctive T-shaped visor of his adopted race. Suddenly-and without warning, he turned toward Watto; Qui-Gon could've sworn he'd just heard the Toydairian squeak in fear just then.

He looked back at Qui-Gon and gave an anxious snort. "No pod's worth two slaves...not by a long shot! One slave or nothing!"

Qui-Gon folded his arms over his chest.

"The boy, then."

Watto huffed and shook his head. Her jerked with tension his deliberation was generating inside his pudgy blue body.

"No, no...ah!" Then abruptly he reached inside his pocket and produced a small cube, which he tossed from one hand to the other as if it were too hot to hold. "We'll let fate decide. Blue, its the boy. Red its the mother, eh?"

Qui-Gon made no mention of the fact that Watto had already lost the battle; if Annie won the race, he would lose the war as well. The second Skywalker won he would now secure his own freedom; and Naruto would in turn be able to buy Shmi off of this brainless blue buffoon.

Watto cast the cube to the hangar floor. As he did, Qui-Gon made a small surrepitious gesture with one hand, calling on his Jedi power to produce the smallest, most minute inflection in the Force. For the circumstances required, it was more than enough. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Naruto's head snap up, his visored helmet fixating upon him as he felt that tiny ripple in the Fabric of the Force. The cube bounced...rolled, settled neatly on one end_...blue side facing up._

Watto threw up his hands angrily, his eyes turning narrow and sharp.

"You won the toss, outlander!" he sneered in dismissal. "But you won't win the race, so it makes little difference, I think."

"We'll see." Qui-Gon replied calmly.

Anakin and the others reached them, entering the hangar with the pod and its engines. Watto wheeled away from Qui-Gon in a huff, pausing long enough to snap irritably at the boy.

"Better stop your friend's betting," he declared with an angry snort, "or I'll end up owning him, too!"

One of the eopies sniffed expectantly at him, and he swore at the beast in Huttese with such ferocity that it backed away. Naruto barked back at him in Mando'a and the Toydarian blanched, gave Qui-Gon one withering glance, and flew off into the hangar shadows.

"What did he mean by that?" Anakin asked as he slowed the eopie beside Qui-Gon, glancing after the retreating Toydarian.

Qui-Gon shrugged. "I'll tell you later." he daren't say anything more; because Naruto pulled to a stop beside them, eyes boring into his back in an unspoken inquiry. Something told him the blond would not be so easily dissuaded. But, to his surprise, instead of questioning him, the hunter slung himself out of the saddle and stalked off in the direction of Sebulba. The Dug saw him coming, paused in verbal tirade toward the two Twi'lek women still massaging his shoulders, and levered himself up on his hind legs threatingly.

_"Dopo mee gusha, peedunkey?"_

You feeling lucky, punk?

Naruto growled at the remark and flexed his fingers, never slowing in the slightest. Belatedly, Qui-Gon recognized the crushgaunts (or _**shuk'orok**_ in Mando'a) he wore on either hand. Despite his dislike for the Dug, Qui-Gon cringed. That poor creature had _no_ idea what he'd just gotten himself into.

Developed by the Mandalorians, the armored glove used a reactive fabric that exponentially enhanced the natural hand-arm strength of its wearer. Its name was well-earned from the wearer's new ability to crush bone, metal, or any other material with relative ease. Made of micronized Mandalorian iron, a Crushgaunt was difficult to damage, or destroy; it could be used to collapse throats, crush skulls, and shatter bones. Due to these unique properties, said properties being those of the micronized Mandalorian iron, the user of a crushgaunt could easily catch and hold a lightsaber blade in his grasp_-as he'd discovered the hard way-_or summarily block an opponent's blade.

The Jedi Master had the succint feeling Naruto wasn't about to use those gloves to block any blades.

"Anakin-

Shmi caught his meaning and moved to cover her son's eyes and not a moment too soon.

_"Chubba!"_ Naruto roared at Sebulba, backhanding the dellusional Dug with a thunderous retort, launching his spinldly body into the hangar wall. One hit was all it took, to impart the meaning of his intent; the fearsome blow smashed Sebulba's confidence and sent the arrogant Dug scurrying toward the safety of his pod. Naruto started after him with a hiss, spitting obscenities that could make even the most foul-mouthed Hutt blush in utter shame.

_"Chuba doompa, dopa-maskey kung!"_

Sebulba whimpered, all of his bravado and bluster gone; evaporating in the face of the furious fighter closing in on him.

Just when Qui-Gon thought the hunter might climb into the Pod after Sebulba-and eliminate him altogether-he stopped, stilling himself with an effort. He watched the hunter huff angrily, his fingers clenching slowly into fists, only to relax again, tightening up just as quickly. He seemed to be on the verge of climbing up after the defiant Dug and strangling the life from him. Qui-Gon wasn't about to intervene, however; it wouldn't do for anyone outside of Anakin's family-especially Watto-to realize he was a Jedi just yet. It was up to Naruto.

_...or not._

The Twi'lek twins glanced toward the quivering from of the Dug, hunched down in his cockpit, then at this menacing Mandolorian who'd taken it upon himself to avail them of their master. Their red eyes, narrowed. As one, they seemed to agree on something; they much rather prefferred the latter to the former. Qui-Gon stubbornly stifled a smile as they approached Naruto; all too late the blond seemed to realize the consequences of his actions. An angry grunt dissolved into a muffled gasp of disbelief as each woman looped an arm in his and simultaneously reached up with the other to remove his helmet in tandem.

"Wha-hey!" his head whipped left and right in surprise. "Ladies! What the devil are you doing?!"

_"Ma lorda,_ _Murishani."_ One of them purred in Huttese, stroking his cheek.

_"No bata tu tu!" _Naruto shook his head rapidly and uttered a denial in the same language, but the girls were having none of it.

_"Ma lorda." _the second sister repeated, firmly.

It took Qui-Gon but a moment to mentally translate their conversation. Roughly, the pair were referring to Naruto as their "Lord, or Master Bounty Hunter", much to the blonde's complete consternation. And then they went a step further than that with their affections, further proving Qui-Gon's suspicion that they were slaves by _choice;_ lacking the transmitters possessed by Shmi and Anakin to keep them from fleeing. That did not, however, prevent them from doing...

_...this._

Blue eyes narrowed in confusion, then widened in shock as each placed a soft kiss against his whiskered cheeks. To his credit, the hunter did not blush. Not in the slightest. Instead he squirmed, and raised both hands, crossing his fingers in a strange shape. There came a poof of smoke and suddenly, to Qui-Gon's dismay-and Padme's disbelief-there was a _second_ Naruto standing beside the first, an exact duplicate of the original. He promptly set to work at an unspoken command, the clone did, mysteriously swapping places with the original, freeing him from the lithesome pair at its own expense.

Thus freed, Naruto stumbled back toward the others, snatching his helmet off the floor and donning it before he could be kissed again. The Twi'leks regarded this second Naruto in their arms with some confusion; how could he be both here and standing over there? Eventually they shrugged and turned their attention to the clone, much to Naruto's relief.

Shmi merely arched an eyebrow as her husband returned to her side. If she was at all phased by the Twi'leks affections, or this abrupt-not to mention unexpected-appearance of another Naruto, she did little to show it at all. Slowly, gradually, her gaze slid to the uncomfortable clone trapped by the Twi'lek sisters, then glided back to the original.

"Friends of yours?" she asked archly; she seemed almost amused by his discomfort.

_Now_ Naruto flushed.

"I have _got_ to stop this hero thing." he muttered.

"You really should." Shmi agreed wholeheartedly as she uncovered their sons eyes and glanced at the enamored girls. "So, what do you plan to do with them?"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked.

"I asked; what do you intend to do with these girls now that you've scared their master off?" Naruto was just about to offer up the feeble protest that he hadn't scared Sebulba _that_ badly; but when he turned to look for the despicable Dug, he was nowhere to be found.

Anakin snickered softly; his father shot him a scathing glare.

"Not you too, Annie?!" For the first time sine Qui-Gon had met him, the hunter seemed to be genuinely at a loss for words; and Shmi was still expecting an answer to her question. "Well...I guess I'll just leave the clone with them and we can get out here while they're-

A soft "poof!" answered that question.

Naruto turned to find that his clone, unable to tolerate the attetion of the twins any longer, had dispelled itself. Leaving him to tend with two sisters who evidently wanted to serve _him _as thanks for liberating them from Sebulba's oppressive service. Qui-Gon knew Naruto well enough to know the blond would never allow such a thing to happen. It simply wasn't in his nature. And then the blonde did what he always did; he surprised the Jedi Master once again...

* * *

"Hold it!"

Naruto promptly held up a hand, forestalling the sister's and their advance before it could begin; they looked almost _hurt_ because of it. He sighed-suddenly intensely grateful for his helmet; because it hid the expression of intense anxiety he wore. Silently, he cursed himself. For the first time in nearly a decade, he'd been reckless. _Foolish._ The moment he laid eyes upon the disgusting Dug and his gross mistreatment of the Twi'leks, his sanity had taken a turn for the worse. Quite simply, he'd snapped. It had taken every ounce of his considerable willpower not to snap the Dug's spindly neck, instead he'd backhanded him halfway across the hangar and now neither he nor his Pod were anywhere to be seen.

And by not doing so, he found himself caught in a conundrum.

_"Fierfek."_ he spat, shoulders slumping. "I don't suppose you have names, do you, girls?"

The twins exchanged a glance, murmurred between themselves.

"Vette." The first said softly.

"Sette," echoed the second.

Naruto nodded. Good, good. They spoke basic.

"Alright then, Vette-san, Sette-san...my name is Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto." He waited for the words to sink in. "Do you understand?" At their nod, he continued. "Do you two have anywhere to go?" He gestured with his hands. "A home, or something?"

A shake of the head from both, no.

"We have nowhere else to go, master." Vette repiled in fluent Huttese.

"Oi oi," Naruto shook his head slowly. "Cut that out. I'm not your master. I can't stand the idea of slavery."

Sette blinked, her lekku curling in genuine surprise.

"But-

"No buts!" Naruto was emphatic, his words stern.

He frowned, looking to Qui-Gon for an answer. The Jedi Master shrugged and it was then that Naruto realized; he was on his own.

It seemed that in spooking Sebulba, he'd gained himself a pair of admirers. Very _attractive, _not to mention scantily clad admirers, who both saw and respected his strength and wanted him as their master_-stop!_ Naruto slammed a lid on _that_ train of thought before it went any further. He was quite happy with Shmi, thank-you-very-much! He wasn't about to let a pair of lithesome young females sway his conviction to his most precious person. It would take a lot more than that to tempt the likes of him!

**"Well now, this is interesting...**

Naruto blinked in surprise, simultaneously alarmed and relieved to hear Kurama's voice inside his head once more.

_"And where have _you_ been?"_ he posed the question in his mind. _"I haven't heard from you for the last two chapters."_

**"Sorry, did I miss anything?"** The kitsune yawned within the seal. **"Thought I'd sleep off the filler and whatnot."**

_"Filler?"_

**"Aye, but now its back to business! As soon as your son wins this race-"**

_"Yeah,"_ Naruto muttered to himself, _"Better stop freaking out the readers and breaking the fourth wall here..._

**"What," **Kurama frowned, dissapointed.** "You're not gonna keep them?"**

_"No,"_ Naruto flushed and willed himself to return to the situation at hand. "_I am not!"_

"Look, ladies." He began slowly, reaching into his belt and extracting a small pouch, divulging its contents into one hand. "I have over one thousand credits here in my hand. Why don't you take them and get offworld somewhere, ya know?" Vette and Sette gasped in surprise; it was clear they had never once even considered leaving Tattooine. Indeed, their red eyes glittered in gratitude and amazement as they stepped forward to claim the monetary offering from him-

But instead of taking the credits he'd offered, the sisters forced his hand shut around them. Naruto frowned. Kurama grinned.

**"I knew it."**

"What're you doing?"

"We would still serve you, bounty hunter." Vette said, her scarlet orbs clear and clam, her tone insistent. "We owe you a life debt for driving off that dug. If not as slaves then as..." her lekku curled slightly around her head as she struggled to find the words needed to express her emotions. "Allies?" It was Sette who posed the question, stumbling over the word, unable-or unwilling- to meet his gaze. "I-If you would have us at your side, we would gladly accompany you...

The shinobi facepalmed. Things were not progressing as he'd planned. He'd come here to watch Anakin race! The last thing_-the absolute last thing-_he needed was a pair of Twi'lek helpers aboard his ship! He didn't need the Force to know Shmi was watching him, waiting for his response. Oddly enough he couldn't sense any anger from her. She seemed more amused than anything. Of course she would be. He was so rarely flustered by anything anymore, so of course she had to be enjoying this.

"Qui-Gon," he hissed beneath his brath, "buddy, can't you use a mind trick or something? Help me out here!"

The Jedi Master shook his head.

"It only works on the weak-minded, I'm afraid."

Naruto spat.

"Shmi?"

His wife offered a mild shrug; she did not feel threatened in the slightest by these two.

"Why not?"

"Uggh, I just know I'm going to regret this but..._fine!"_ the bounty hunter growled behind his helmet and flung up his hands in expasperation. "You can come with us! But only until the next planet and please for the love of kami, get some _clothes_ on! I can't think properly when the two of you are dressed like that!" The sisters giggled at his remark and swiftly set out to do just that, leaving the group to marvel at what the bounty hunter had just done. Naruto could feel his cheeks burning beneath his helm, hotter than the twin suns of Tatooine.

**"I knew you'd cave."** Kurama gloated. **"You just can't resist a pretty face..."**

"Lets get going," Naruto snapped, stubbornly ignoring his tentant.

"This is so wizard, Annie!" Anakin's best friend, Kitster grinned, heedless of the bounty hunter's close call. "I'm sure you'll do it this time!"

Padme's gaze shifted from one to the other. "Do what?" she asked suspiciously.

Kitster beamed. "Finish the race, of course!"

The girl paled. Her eyes burned into Anakin. "You've never even _finished _a race?" she demanded incredulously.

The boy blushed.

"Well...not exactly." His mouth tightened with determination. "But Kitster's right. I will this time."

Naruto managed to disetangle himself from his thoughts long enough to pat the boy's head.

"Of course you will," he agreed, the helmet modulating his words with a metallic ring. "Just remember what I taught you, and everything will be all right."

Anakin nodded firmly, doing his best to conceal his nervousness.

"I won't let you down, dad."

"Just be sure to watch out for Sebulba. He's probably pretty pissed after the beating I gave him. Naruto laughed. "Oh and-hmm?" he started to say something else, but Sette and Vette chose that moment to return and he found himself occupied once more. Apparently the pair had managed to spirit away some desert cloaks from the stands above to cover themselves and wanted to know what he thought of them. Qui-Gon restrained a tight smile as Naruto praised his new aides for doing this without being caught. The man truly was a marvel. One moment he was a cold-hearted killer; the next he was a family man, a swashbuckling hero, righter of all that was wrong with the universe, master of the blade...

The list went on and on.

From atop the eopie, Padme Naberrie just stared at the scene wordlessly. Naruto was a better man than she'd thought. Not only did he abhor slavery nearly as much-if not moreso-as she, but he was also a sound man of honour and principle. He was extraordinary. Powerful. Exceptional. Never in her life had she seen someone capable of creating clones of themselves in a matter of minutes; producing, living, breathing duplicates that were capable of independent thought! She didn't need to see his face to read his body language; for a split second there, he'd been distinctly uncomfortable around the Twi'lek twins. One glance with Qui-Gon was more than enough to confirm her suspicions; the Jedi Master shared her suspicions and was likewise stunned by the blonde's ability to duplicate himself.

Her mind awhirl with possibilities, she handed Qui-Gon the reins to the eopie and allowed herself to follow after Anakin and the others.

Perhaps, she might've underestimated Uzmaki Naruto...

* * *

In the center of Mos Espa the crowds were beginning to thin as the population gravitated in increasing numbers toward the Podracer arena at the edge of the spaceport. Most of the shops and stalls were already closed, and the rest were in the process of doing so. Owners and vendors were completing sales and glancing anxiously in the direction of the traffic's steady flow.

Amid the confusion and bustle, a Sith probe droid slowly floated along, mechanical eyes traveling from shop to shop, from face to face, searching.

_Searching for a certain blonde bounty hunter._

* * *

Over a hundred thousand beings had filled the Podracer arena by the midmorning, jamming into the grand stand seats, crowding onto the broad viewing platforms, filling the available space. The arena soon became a vast sea of color and movement and sound in the emptiness of the surrounding desert.

Flags and banners bearing the insignia of the racers and their sponsors waved over the assemblage, signifying favorites and and creating impromptu cheering sections. Bands played in support of some of these racers, and isolated horns and drums beat in wild appreciation for all. Vendors walked the aisles, carrying food and drink from canopied stands to below to sell to the crowd. Everywhere, excitement and anticipation was building.

Then a roar erupted as the racers began to emerge from the main hangar on the far side of the start line. One by one the Podracers hove into view, some towed by eopies, some by hand, some by repulsorsled, all part of a long procession of pilots, pit crews, and hangers-on. Standard-bearers, each carrying a flag that identified pilot and sponsor, marched along, forming a colorful line in front of the assembly of Pods. Overhead, their twin suns of Tatooine shone down with a bright, hungry glare.

As the racers moved onto the track in front of the arena stands, a flurry of movement in the royal box signified the arrival of Jabba the Hutt and Gardulla, his female friend. Slithering into the cooled interior of the box, the two Hutts oozed their way along the flooring to their designated places amid the bright silks that draped the rough stone. Jabba came foremost, proceeding directly to the arched overlook where he could be seen by the people of Mos Espa.

Lifting his pudgy arms in greeting, he basked in the crowd's appreciative roar. Gardulla muttered her approval, nodding her neckless head on the end of a thick, shapeless body, slitted eyes glittering. A corterie of aliens and humans filed in behind the two Hutts, guests of Mos Espa's rulers on race day, a coveted designation. A long line of slave girls of varying species came last, each chained together, there for the amusement of those who had chosen freely to attend.

Naruto cocked his head and peered up into the stands, his eyes narrowed at the sight. While Jabba remained his primary employer in the Outer Rim, the Hutt's obsessive need for slaves disgusted him. His mind warred with his heart, wanting more than anything to free those poors girls, yet knowing he could not. Not without risking himself and upsetting the plan. Absently, he fingered the trigger against the small of his palm, flicking the catch open and shut. Once_-if!-_pressed, it would activate a nasty surprise planted the night before; dozens of thermal detonators, planted in the VIP box. Not even a Hutt could survive them.

The only thing that prevented him from pressing the button was the girls. That, and the knowledge that he needed to wait until at least after the race, provided Annie lost_-when all those winnings were about to be sent down to the betting booths and collected-_before he could spirit his clones up there and free the girls, thereby removing the sole obstruction to putting his plan into action. Make no mistake-Naruto sincerely hoped Annie _would _win...it simply payed to have a contingency plan, just in case. Hell, he was tempted to blow the fat slug sky-high anyway, just for laughs!

_"Chowbaso!"_ Jabba rumbled in Huttese, his deep voice echoing through the sound enhancers and out across the flats. _"Tam ka chee Boonta rulee ya, kee madd ahdrudda du wundee!_ Welcome!"

The crowd roared some more, arms and flags waving madly. Horns sounded as Jabba began his introduction of the racers. Naruto caught Sebulba out of the corner of his eye, standing immediately next to Anakin, hind legs reared up as he waved to the stands. Evidently the dug hadn't chickened out after all. He did pale a bit, however, when he caught sight of Naruto. _Good,_ the blonde thought to himself. _Let him be afraid; frightened, he'll make more mistakes. And the more he makes, the easier it'll be for my boy to win..._

One by one, Jabba recognized the Podracer pilots. Naruto dutifully ignored the long list of names; a glance over his shoulder revealed Kitster at work attaching the Randon-Ulzers to Annie's pod with the Steelton cables, checking the fastenings with sharp tugs. He flashed Naruto a thumbs up; the blond inclined his helmed head minutely in answerment. Any moment now...

"...Mawhonic _tuta _Hok," Jabba boomed. "Teeto Pagalies _tuta _Moonus Mandel. Anakin Skywalker _tuta _Tatooine...

Applause burst from the crowd, though it was not as enthusiastic as it had been for Sebulba, Gasgano, or several of the others. Anakin waved in response, eyes traveling over the thousands gathered, his mind already out in the flats.

When he turned to walk to his racer, his mother was standing in front of him. Her smooth, youthful face was calm and determined as she bent down to give him a hug and a kiss. Her eyes were steady as she backed a step off, her hands gripping his shoulders, and she could not quite mask the worry reflected there.

"Be safe, Annie." she told him.

He nodded, swallowing. "I wil, Mom. I promise."

She smiled, warm and reassuring, and moved away. Anakin continued on, watching Kitster and Jar Jar unhitch the eopies so that Kitster cou lead them away. R2-D2 and Sparky rolled up to him as one and beeped their own approval and reassurance. C-3PO solemnly warned against the dangers of driving too fast and wished his master well.

All was ready.

Jar Jar patted the boy on the back, his billed face a mask of worry and consternation. "Tis very loony, Annie. May da Guds be kind, me friend."

Vette and Sette gave him well-wishes of their own; they each bent down to kiss one of his cheeks, just as they'd done to his father only a few hours before. Anakin found himself flushing, cheeks warming in spite of the fact that he barely knew the Twi'lek sisters. There was just something about the two of them...something that suggested they were more than who they appeared to be.

"We wish you luck, son of Naruto." Sette murmurred reverently.

"May the winds carry you to victory." offered Vette.

Out of the corner of his eye Anakin saw Sebulba wander over from his own racer and begin examining the boy's. Hitching along on his spindly legs, he worked his way around the hulking Randon-Ulzers with undisguised interest. Stopping finally at the left engine, he suddenly banged hard on a stabilizer, glancing around quickly to see if anyone had noticed. Anakin didn't.

Naruto did.

Even as he felt the urge to _murder _the Dug for touching his son's pod, he surrepitiously sidled over to the Dug's own racer and thrust a hand deep into its orange belly, severing the tenuous lines that controlled the fine-tuned steering the Pord so desperately relied upon. His mission complete, he walked back toward Anakin's pod and corrected the loosened stabilizer, whistling innocently.

Padme appeared just then and bent down to kiss Anakin's dark cheek. Her dark eyes were intense.

"You carry all our hopes," she said quietly.

Anakin's lower lip jutted out. "I won't let you down."

She gave him a long stare, then moved away. As she did so, Sebulba sidled up to him, his whizened, whiskery face leaning close.

"You won't walk away from this one, slave scum," he wheezed softly, grinning. "You're bantha poodoo."

Anakin stood his ground, just as he'd been taught, giving the Dug a stony look.

"Don't count on it, slime face."

Qui-Gon and Naruto were approaching, and Sebulba backed away toward his own racer, malevolence mirroed in his flat stare. Horns blared, and a new roar rose from the crowd. Jabba the Hutt oozed to the lip of the royal box, his thick arms lifting.

_"Kaa bazza kundee da tam hdrudda!"_ he growled. "Let the challenge begin!"

The roar of the crowd began to build even further. Naruto helped Anakin into his Pod. The boy settled himself in place in the seat, securing his straps, fitting his old, battered racing helmet over his head and bringing dow the goggles. It had been a gift to him from the blonde years ago, and never had he treasured it more than he did now.

"Are you all set, Annie?" the Jedi Master asked calmly.

"Of course he is!" Naruto snapped back. "He was born for this moment! Unlike some people," he shot a scathing glare at Sebulba.

The boy nodded, eyes intense, steady. Qui-Gon held his gaze. "Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled. "May the Force be with you, Annie."

"You can do this, son." Naruto's helmeted head nodded for a final time in reminder. "Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Then they backed away, and Anakin Skywalker was alone.

* * *

Qui-Gon moved quickly through the crowd to the viewing platform where Shmi, Padme, and Jar Jar waited. Naruto trailed a few paces behind him, shadowed by Vette and Sette. Qui-Gon still didn't know exactly what to make of the Twi'lek twins, save that he didn't trust them. Not yet. The pair moved with the lithesome grace of dancers,

He glanced back only once at Anakin and found the boy calmly fitting his goggles in place. The Jedi Master nodded to himself. The boy would do all right.

He mounted the viewing platform with Naruto and the women just as it began to lift into position for the race. Shmi gave him a worried, questioning look.

"He's fine," Qui-Gon assured her, touching her shoulder.

Padme shook her head doubtfully. "You Jedi are far too reckless. The Queen-

"The Queen trusts my judgement, young handmaiden." Qui-Gon interrupted smoothly, directing his words only to her. "Perhaps you should, too."

She glared at him. "You assume too much."

Naruto chuckled softly; it earned him a curious look from both.

"What?"

"No, its nothing, you just remind me of some old friends of mine...

The viewing platform locked into place, and all eyes turned towards the racers. Energy binders were engaged, powerful electromagnetic currents arcing between coaxial plates, locking the twin engines of each Podracer together as a single unit. Now the engines themselves began to turn over, their booming coughs and rumbles mingling with and then overwhelming the roar of the crowd. Flag bearers and pit crews moved hastily aside, clearing the start line beneath the arch that marked the beginning and end of the race.

Overhead, a red light held the racers in place. Anitcipating the green, the pilots gunnes their engines, the massive casings shaking with the force of the power they generated, the cables that bound them to the Pods and their drivers straining to break free.

Standing next to Qui-Gon, Jar Jar Binks covered his eyes in dismay. "Me no watch. Dis gonna be messy!"

Though he could not bring himself to say so, the Jedi Master was inclined to agree. _Steady, Anakin Skywalker,_ he thought to himself. _Concentrate._

Naruto stood up and ripped off his helmet, revealing the anxious eyes within.

_"Go, Annie!"_

Then the light over the starting line flashed bright green and the race was under way.

* * *

It felt like hours, but in reality, the race was over in only a few minutes.

Naruto could sense his son out there on the flats, and one other. _Sebulba._ The Dug was jockeying wildly to kep the lead; Anakin was snapping at his heels like an akk hound starved for meat. Whether through design or accident, all the other racers had either crashed or fallen too far behind to make any meaningful differenece here in the last lap. But not Annie. No mattered how many times the Dug blocked him he still kept at it, quick on the draw, determine, ready to pounce upon the slightest opportunity.

Finally, Anakin shifted left, then right. But this time when Sebulba moved to block him, Anakin faked a third shift, drawing the Dug left again. The instant Sebulba began his blocking move, Anakin jerked his racer hard to the right and nosed in beside the Dug.

Down the flat, open final stretch of the course the podracers tore, side by side, the arena stands and warding statuary beginning to take shape ahead. Sebulba screamed in frustration and deliberately swerved his pod into Anakin's. Infuriated by the boy's dogged persistence, he slammed into him once, twice, three times. But on the fourth strike Sebulba made a mistake, swerving too hard in a desperate attempt to force the boy off and into the ground, juking hard to the right; his damaged steering vane_-courtesy of Naruto-chose_ that moment to break.

The Dug's pod shot forward as if catapaulted, collapsing the towlines, sending both X-shaped engines screaming out of control. One engine slammed into a piece of ancient statuary and disintegrated into flames. Then the second went, ramming into the sand and exploding in a massive fireball. The towing cables broke free, and the Dug's Pod was sent skidding through the flaming wreckage of the engines, twisting and bumping violently along the desert floor to a smoking stop.

Sebulba extricated himself in a shrieking fit, throwing pieces of his ruined pod in all directions only to discover that his pants were on fire.

_"Poodoo!"_ he screamed!

Anakin Skywalker flew overhead, the exhausts from the big Randon-Ulzers sending sand and grit into the Dug's face in a stinging spray. Hanging on to mantain control as he crossed the finish line, he became, at nine years of age, the youngest winner ever of the Boonta Eve Race.

* * *

_"OYA!"_ Naruto roared the Mando'a phrase from behind his helmet with gusto, the words momentarily scrambing the HUD'S vocoders. "There we go! That's ma boy!" Without pause or preamble his jetpack flared to life, carrying him from the platform to the sands below.

As the viewing platform he occupied with Shmi, Padme, Vette and Sette slowly lowered, Qui-Gon watched the crowd surge toward Anakin's racer. The boy had brought the Pod to a skidding in the center of the raceway, shut down the Randon-Ulzers, and climbed out. Kitster had already reached him and was hugging him tightly, R2-D2, Sparky, and C-3PO were scuttling around them both. When Naruto and their crowd converged mere moments later, they hoisted Anakin aloft and carried him away, chanting his name.

Qui-Gon exchanged a warm smile with Shmi, nodding his approval of the boy's performance. Anakin Skywalker was special indeed.

The viewing platform settled in smoothly, and its occupants off-loaded onto the raceway in a rush. Allowing his companions to join the celebration, the Jedi Master turned back toward the stands. Ascending the stairway swiftly, he reached Watto's private box in minutes. A knot of aliens departed in front of him, laughing and joking in several languages, counting fistfuls of currency and credits. Watto was staring out at the chanting crowd, hovering at the edge of the viewport, a dejected look on his wrinkled blue face.

The moment he caught sight of Qui-Gon, his dejection transformed, and he flew at the Jedi Master in undisguised fury.

"You! You swindled me!" He bounced in the air in front of Qui-Gon, shaking with rage. "You knew the boy was going to win. Somehow you knew it! I lost everything!"

Qui-Gon smiled benignly. "Whenever you gamble my friend, eventually you'll lose. Today wasn't your day." The smile dropped away. "Bring the hyperdrive parts to the main hangar right away. A new engine for Naruto, as well. I'll come by your shop later so you can release the boy."

The Toydarian shoved his snout against Qui-Gon's nose. "You can't have him! It wasn't a fair bet!"

Qui-Gon looked him up and down with a chilly stare. "Would you like to discuss it with the Hutts? Or perhaps Naruto? I'm sure _he_ would be more than happy to settle the matter."

Watto jerked as if stung, his beady eyes filled with hate. "No, no! I want no more of your tricks." He gestured emphatically. "Take the boy! Begone!"

He wheeled away and flew out of the box, body hunched beneath madly beating wings. Qui-Gon watched him depart, then started down the stairs for the racetrack, his mind already turning to other things. Had he not been so preoccupied with his plans for what lay ahead, he might have caught sight of the Sith Probe droid trailing after.

* * *

As the crowd surged around them, Naruto's clone smiled and removed its helmet. It had been created shortly before the race, its purpose to avail the beings in the VIP box of their slaves, to execute Jabba and Gardulla if the need came. That time was now, though their execution was no longer required. Maybe he'd frame Watto for that. But there were still slaves to be freed, and he'd be damned if he let the Hutts exact their cruel and sick pleasures upon those poor women.

A simple _henge _had altered its appearance dramatically; its orange and black armour were now a steel-blue, lacking the _beskar_ plating and sporting a slim build, its hair darker, shorter. Indeed, it it no longer resembled its creator in the slightest-but rather the likeness of his mentor, and possibly the one man more skilled than he, Jango Fett. This would be one of his greatest pranks ever-no, wait. Scratch that. There had been that one time he'd impersonated a Jedi Master back on Coruscant_-Dooku, was his name?-_and made a royal mess of his name just to fuck with the Jedi Order. _That _had been his greatest prank ever. But this...this would prove to be a very close second; impersonating the man who'd taught him almost everything he knew about being a Mandolorian.

Naruto knew the man had no love of slavers or slavery, and so it was with great pleasure that he walked past the grounds leading to the box and flashed its guards a smile that suggested he was a rancor and they were made of meat. The men scrambled backwards, desperate to get out of his way. The clone smiled to itself as it stalked up the stairways that would lead him to Jabba and Gardulla. Jango's reputation truly precceded him after all.

It risked a backward glance to the crowd, confirming that the civilians had indeed cleared the box; it would wait a litte longer before acting. And then Jango would get a nice little popularity boost, around the galaxy and more and, in turn the slaves would be freed. A win/win situation, truly.

But now that the boss's son had beaten the odds, the clone knew its _true_ task was only beginning...

* * *

_(Hours later)_

Qui-Gon Jinn and company-minus Naruto's little band-rode out of Mos Espa into the Tatooine desert. R2-D2 leading the way, rolling along in front of the eopies and sled at a steady pace. The suns were rising quickly to a midday position in the sky, and the heat rose off the sand in waves. The little astromech droid remained utterly unaffected by the heat, but one glance at his companions confirmed they were just as ready to be rid of this infernal humidity as he was.

Thankfully, the journey back to the Queen's transport was accomplished swiftly and without incident.

Obi-Wan was waiting for them, appearing down the rampway as soon they neared, his youthful face intense.

"I was getting worried," he announced without preamble.

Qui-Gon dismounted, then helped Padme down.

"Start getting this hyperdrive generator installed," he ordered. "I'm going back. I have some unfinished business."

"Business?" his protege echoed, arching one eyebrow.

"I won't be long."

"Is that an _engine?"_ his student frowned when he saw the third eopie, led by Jar Jar, towing a massive block of machinery in its wake. Certainly that couldn't be for the ship. It was the _hyperdrive_ that was damaged not the engine itself. Besides, this one was much too large...

Qui-Gon noticed his scrutiny and smiled softly.

"Why yes, yes it is."

_I have a bad feeling about this..._

Obi-Wan studied him a moment, then sighed, giving voice to his misgivings. "Why do I sense we've picked up another stray?"

Qui-Gon took his arm and move dhim away from the others, lest they be overhead. "Its the boy who's responsible for getting us these parts." He paused. "The boy whose blood sample you ran the test on last night. His father and mother as well, if they're willing."

Obi-Wan gave him a hard, steady look, then turned away. Qui-Gon grabbed his wrist.

"Something troubles you." It was not a question.

"Master, I- For a moment, it looked as hif protege might divulge his secret; then just as suddenly, he shook himself free of his teacher's grip and continued on. Qui-Gon allowed him to go. Obi-Wan was still young in the ways of the Force, he did not yet see nor understand the hand of fate that Qui-Gon saw upon Naruto Uzumaki and Anakin Skywalker. But he would, in time. In time, he would come to understand the wisdom in this odd decision, would accept it, and move on.

On a rise overlooking the spacecraft, hidden in the glare of the suns and the ripple of the dunes, the Sith probe droid hung motionless for a final transmission, then quickly sped away.

* * *

Anakin walked home with his mother and C-3PO, still wrapped in the euphoria of his victory, but wrestling as well with his sadness over the departure of Padme. He hadn't thought about what would happen to her if he won the Boonta Eve, that it would mean Qui-Gon would secure the hyperdrive generator he needed to make their transport functional. So when she bent to kiss and hug him good-bye, it was the first time he had given the matter any serious thought since her arrival.

_I miss her._

He was stunned, caught in a mix of emotions, and all of a sudden he'd wanted to tell her to stay. But he couldn't bring himself to speak the words, knowing how foolish they would sound, realizing she couldn't do so in any case.

So he stood there like a droid without is vocoder, watching her ride away behind Qui-Gon, thinking it might well be the last time he would ever see her, and wondering how he was going to live with himself if it was. He heard Sparky whistle reassuringly beside him, but he resolutely ignored her, nothing the droid said could possibly cheer him up now. And where, was Naruto in all of this? His father had mysteriously dissapeared during the post-race celebration, citing that he had "business" to attend to, leaving Sparky to look after him in his abscence.

Perhaps that was the one good thing that had come out of this, Anakin thought to himself; he knew that the bounty hunter was his father, and the thought of it stirred such joy in his heart that it almost added a skip to his step. Almost, but alas, not quite.

Unable to sit still once he had walked his mother to their home-and after making certain Naruto's ship was still there-he placed C-3PO in his bedroom, deactivated him, and went out again. Qui-Gon had told him he was relieved of any work today at Watto's, so he pretty much could do what he wanted until the Jedi returned. He gave no thought to what would happen then, wandering down Mos Espa Way with the orange-black droid at his heels, waving as his name was shouted out from every quarter on his journey, basking in the glow of his success. He still couldn't quite believe it, and yet it felt as if he had always known he would this race.

Kitster appeared then, then Amee, and Wald, and soon he was surrounded by a dozen others.

He was just approaching the connector to Mos Espa Way when a Rodian youngster, bigger than himself, blocked his way. Anakin had cheated, the Rodian sneered angrily. He couldn't have won the Boonta Eve any other way. No fatherless _shag _could win anything-

_SHUT UP!_

Anakin was on top of him so fast the bigger being barely had time to put his arms up in defense before he was on the ground. Anakin was hitting him as hard and as fast as he could, not thinking about anything but how angry he was, not even aware that the source of his anger had nothing to do with his victim and everything to do with losing Padme.

"Oi!"

Then Naruto was there, looming over them like an angry god. He pulled Anakin away, separating the two fighters, and demanded to know what the devil this was all about. Somewhat sheepishly, but still angry, Anakin told him. Naruto studied him carefully, dissapointment registering on his whiskered features. He fixed the young Roidian with his gaze and asked him if he still believed Anakin had cheated. The youngster, glowering at Anakin, said he did.

Naruto put his hand on Anakin's shoulder and steered him away from the crowd, not saying anything until they were out of hearing.

"You know, son," he said then, his deep voice thoughtful, "sometimes anger is the appropriate response. But," he ammended at the boy's disbelieving stare, "fighting didn't change his opinion. The opinions of others-whether you agree with them or not-are something you have to learn to tolerate."

"But I...I just miss her."

Naruto's expression softened; he didn't ask of whom his son spoke. He already knew.

"I know son. But it'll be alright. I promise it will. Isn't that right, Sparky?"

The black-orange astromech bleeped an affirmative.

He walked the boy back to his home, counseling him quietly about the way life worked, all the while his hand resting on his shoulder in the way that made Anakin feel comforted. Naruto soon reminded his progeny that a promise remained a promise, he would train him in the ways of his people. As they neared the boy's home, Anakin had already begun to feel a tiny bit better about things; Padme might be gone for good, but at least he had something to look forward to now. He would become a stron warrior; a hero, just like his father. That was almost as good as becoming a Jedi Knight, he supposed.

Imagine his surprise when they found Qui-Gon there, waiting for them. With an engine. An engine! Naruto made a squelching sound behind his helmet, he was clearly just as surprised to find the Jedi Master waiting for the two of them. Vette and Sette were there with him as well, their desert cloaks replaced by long, flowing diaphonous silks; even from here the Twileks could heard chattering at the Jedi Master in Huttese, just as they could also be seen by the _Konoha-_stubbornly barring Qui-Gon's path with virulence alone, guarding the entrance to Naruto's beloeved vessel as though all their very lives depended on it.

And they just might, as the bounty hunter took his arm away from his son's shoulder and stalked forward. The Jedi saw them coming and turned away, ending his heated discussion with the Twi'leks. Naruto never even bothered to slow his stride, he barreled right past the three of them, fixated on the massive engine block that held his prize. There was a moment of silence as his booted feet ground to a halt only a few feet away from the massive hunk of transparisteel. Abruptly he jerked back and flung his arms wide.

"It's beautiful!" he exclaimed, gazing lonvingly upon the fresh engine the Jedi had provided for him. "Where did you get it?!"

"Condiser it a gift from Watto."

"Magnificent bastard!" Naruto exclaimed for only the second time since they'd met. "Just give me a minute; I'll have it installed in no time!" He turned and crossed his fingers together; just like that, the desert vanished in a plume of smoke, only to reappeare suddenly flooded with dozens of clones, each cracking their knuckles expectantly.

"Hop to it, boys!" the original declared. "I want that thing installed and tested in the next five minutes!"

As one, his minions saluted and moved forward.

"Engine aside, why _are_ you still here?" Naruto frowned at the Jedi as his dopplegangers set to their work. "Thought you would've left by now, _ner vod."_

In answerment the Jedi reached beneath his poncho and produced a leather pouch filled with credits. He handed it to Annie.

"These are yours," he announced. "I sold the Pod." He pursed his lips. "To a particularly surly and rather insistent Dug."

Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"You did...what?"

Anakin accepted the bag, grinning broadly, the fight and its cause now fully forgotten. He ran up the steps to his door and burst through, Qui-Gon and Naruto following silently, the latter with a frown. He didn't like this one bit; because there was more at work here than apppeared too meet the eye.

"Mom, Mom!" Anakin cried out, as she appeared to greet him. "Guess what?! Qui-Gon sold the pod! Look at all the money we have!"

He produced the leather pouch and dropped it into her hands, enjoying the startled look on her face.

"Oh, my goodness!" she breathed softly, staring down at the bulging pouch. "Annie, that's wonderful!" Her eyes lifted quickly to meet Qui-Gon's. The Jedi stepped forward, holding her gaze, and it was then, at that very moment, that Naruto finally understood what was happening.

"Annie has been freed." The words left his lips at the same time in which Qui-Gon spoke them, their voices overlapping in eerie duality.

The boy's eyes went wide. "What?"

Qui-Gon glanced down at him kindly. "You are no longer a slave."

Shmi Skywalker stared at the Jedi in disbelief, her smooth face rigid, her eyes mirroring her shock and disbelief; one Naruto readily shared. So that was what Watto had meant by Qui-Gon's betting; the Jedi master had wagered Anakin's freedom on the outcome of the race and come out on top. Must've been working on his poker face, the blonde mused. And then it hit him like a thunderbolt crackling across the arid skies of this humid and hellish planet.

_He could free Shmi._

With his engine restored and his son freed, he had more than enough to free her-this woman he wanted to marry-whom he already considered his wife in all but name. All that remained was to purchase her from Watto himself and be done with it.

"Mom? Dad? Did you hear that, Did you?!" Anakin let out a whoop and and jumped as high as he possibly could manage, nearly to his waist. It wasn't possible! But he knew...it was true, that it really was! Naruto gave up a harsh cough, and he managed to collect himself.

"Was that part of the prize, or what?" he asked, grinning.

Qui-Gon grinned back. "Let's just say Watto learned an important lesson about gambling."

Shmi was shaking her head, still stunned by the news, working it through. But the sight of Anakin, made everything clear for her in an instant. She reached out and pressed him to her.

"Now you can make your dreams come true, Annie." she whispered, her face radiant as she touched his cheek. "You're free." He knew.

She knew.

And so did Naruto.

The blond bounty hunter was practically quivering with an emotion she scarcely remember seeing in him. Anger. White-hot fury flared across his face, tempered only by the knowledge that he stood in the prescence of his friends and family.

"Dad?" Anakin seemed to noticethe fury building in his father; worry etched into his young features. "What's wrong?"

Naruto said nothing; he simply ignited his jetpack and streaked toward Watto's shop in a geyser of flame.

* * *

(Seconds later)

Watto wheeled around with a start as the high-pitched whine of a jetpack reached his ears. There was a silence. Then he was spitting and squawking as the door to his shop burst open, ripped from its hinges by a pair of crushgaunts. He fumbled for a blaster, his quivering fingers closing around the trigger in the time that it took for the intruder to step into the archway.

He raised his blaster and fired.

_Ba-krang!_

At first he thought the ionized gas cartridge in his blaster had backfired. It was as if a giant, invisible hand had snatched him up and hurled him with bonebreaking force against the far wall. Stunned, in shock, he could only watch as Uzumaki Naruto stepped inside, his blue eyes narrow in anger. The black boots touched down next to Watto's broken body, sending the injuried alien whirling into a frantic flight, his three unbroken wings beating at the air in a desperate attempt to distance himself from his furious foe.

"How pathetic," the Shinobi commented. He stood towering in the archway, contemplating his beaten adversary. "Did you really think you had the faintest hope in assasinating _me?_ It's been tried by far better than the likes of you."

"W-What do you want, hunter?" Watto coughed, feeling the words lodge like stones in his throat.

Naruto stepped forward.

"I'll tell you what I want-

Watto opened fire again.

Naruto raised his right hand, the blaster bolts dissipating harmlessly into the fingers his palm. He gestured, and the blaster flew from Watto's grasp, into his own. He squeezed, and the _crushgaunt_ rendered the weapon into useless slag, effortlessly discarded over his shoulder. Watto cringed, expecting retribution to come crashing down on his head in retaliation for his actions.

Naruto didn't retaliate. Instead, he flung down a bag at Watto's feet; divulging enough credits to easily purchase several large starships; nearly _three_ times, what his wife was worth. Watto gawped, his snaggle-toothed mouth working wordlessly at the sight of so much money.

Naruto began to advance, and this time, there was no weapon to stop him.

"You know why I'm here, Watto." he announced, backing the Toydarian off with each step. "This all the money you lost in the Boonta, plus a little interest, as I'm feeling generous at the moment. I don't care what you do with the credits. To be perfectly honest, I don't much what you say, either. Just show me how to deactivate Shmi's and Annie's transmitters, and we can go our separate ways. Qui-Gon's already won Annie from ya and don't think I don't know it." he sneered at the Toydarian's furious expression. "You can't stop me from taking the rest of what's mine."

"No!" The pudgy alien declared, wheeling away from the potent warrior in desperate defiance. "I won't do it! It doesn't matter how much money you give! Your outlander friend has already taken the boy from me! You cannot take the woman! I will not allow-_urk!"_

Watto never got to finish that sentence; because Naruto reached out with the _Force,_ invisible fingers closing around the Toydarian's throat. Watto sqwuaked in surprise, his bony fingers scrabbling against a vice that he could not see, but most certainly felt. His wings beat furiously, but to no avail, no matter how much distance he put between them. Naruto laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound, darke in its exultance, modulated to an almost maddened degree of insidiousness.

"I have waited a **long** time for this moment...my little blue friend."

Anger flowed through him in a heady, potent mixture of joyous fury-years of pent up hate coming to a head in the span of a single second, strengthening his already powerful connection to the Force, making him more powerful then he had ever been. He knew what was happening to him, and knew he couldn't stay like this, couldn't try to remain in such a sinister state for so long without losing himself to the darkness within his soul. But he had time; and Watto refused to honour their bargain at the end did he? Fine then. He'd take what he needed by force.

Slowly.

Painfully.

_Deliberately._

"As I'm certain you've guessed," he continued amicably, as the Toydarian clawed at the invisible vice that suffocated him, "I've become well-versed in the ways of the Force since coming to this universe. Gifted, you might say. Perhaps...too gifted," he ammended with a grimace. "You see, I can't wield the Force without suffering some sort of backlash. Be it natural disasters ravaging the planet, unbearable pain, or worse, there's always a price to pay, and painful at that. But in your case," he squeezed again, and Watto felt another life-giving breath leave his lungs in a rush of air, "It's one I'll gladly pay. Now,"

"S-Stop!" The toydarian hissed, his eyes beginning to burst as the stranglehold slowly squeezed the life out of him. Naruto didn't care. He closed in on him-on his prey- with a snarl, erasing the gap between them with swift, sinister strides, forcing Watto to the wall, his wings beating furiously.

"The codes, if you please?" Naruto inquired politely.

"Never!"

Naruto shrugged, and for a hearstopping instance, his eyes flshed a deathly, sithly yellow.

**"Have it your way." **

* * *

Miles away, back at the homestead, Qui-Gon flinched as though he'd been struck. Around him the clones, having been milling about quietly moments before-having finished installing and testing the engine-now cringed in pain as one and simultaneously dispelled in a plume of smoke. Shmi's face twisted in distress, her eyes narrowing as a wave of angry emotions assaulted her through the bond she shared with her beloved. She risked a glance at Qui-Gon only to find shock eclipsing the Jedi Master's every feature, Anakin's as well.

Only Vette and Sette seemed unaffected by the distrurbance, they seemed more confused than anything. Qui-Gon almost envied them that as another bolt of agony ripped through the Force, nearly driving him down to his knees.

_Naruto...what have you done?"_

* * *

Maul stopped, his golden eyes narrowing in confusion; he sensed something. At long last! But this prescence was neither Jedi nor Sith. It was something else.

_Something darker._

**"Found you!" **With a feral grin, he gunned his speeder bike and sped out into the desert.

His prey awaited him.

* * *

Watto screamed as Naruto ravaged his mind, slowly extracting the knowledge needed and leaving nothing but an empty, scarred husk behind. Despite his best efforts, part of him gloried in it; in what he was doing, in the justice no, the vengeance he was exacting on the impudent Toydarian. He should have done this sooner! So much sooner! Maybe if he had...Annie wouldn't have had to suffer for all those years without a father. If he had...but he digressed. That was then, and this was now. Now, as he saw Watto's every memory; his rage crested to new heights. He saw it all.

The abuse Annie and Shmi suffered while he was away from home. Cruel words, harsh blows, degradatory treatment. The sinister sabotage of his engine while he slept, in an effort to forestall his attempts to buy Annie and Shmi. The trio assasins hired to kill him, waiting just outside. A roar of rage tore past his lips.

_"Di'kut!"_

Naruto cast Watto down to the floor and released him, allowing the broken alien to rasp in a desperate gasp of air through his swollen, neckless throat. It would be his last.

**"Kit!"** Kuram's voiced sounded muffled through the rage-filled haze. **"Don't do this! It's not worth it!"**

Naruto wasn't listening.

"You know," he began menacingly, circling Watto's broken body in slow, easy steps; a predator eying its prey. "I was going to let you live. I really was. But now that I've seen what you've done, that I have what I need, I can't risk you blathering to someone. To be frank, I can't stand the thought of you living, either. Still... I can't risk someone thinking the Force was used to kill you. So I'm afraid I'll have to grant you a swift death. Be grateful; its more than you deserve."

"No! Noooo-

Watto tried to scream, but all that emerged was a whisper as the strangehold returned en mass, driving the air from his throat, twisting the muscles of his neck, straining...breaking...

_"Goodbye, Watto."_

He flicked his wrist, and a harrowing crack of bone signalled the end of a life.

* * *

Only a few minutes had passed before a streak of flame on the horizon signalled Naruto's return. He alighted heavily before them, staggering half a step, as though intoxicated. Qui-Gon supposed he was. After forcing that much power through his body, he had to be hurting. He staggered another step, straightened himself, stood woodenly. His helmet hid whatever expression he wore, but Qui-Gon could feel the last remantns of an unholy rage bleeding from his system; an uspoken word that he'd almost gone to the Dark Side before ending Watto's life.

Already he could feel the force roiling around them; something was about to happen on Tatooine, something he had no desire to be part of. Naruto had delved too deeply into the Force, and now it was preparing to try and retaliate in a massive fashion, the sky was already darkening on the horizon in a massive sandstorm. If they stayed here for more than few minutes, there might be nothing left. Nothing at all. It was time to leave, he knew this, yet even so...he ad to ask.

"What did you do?" he said it more for the benefit of the others than himself.

"Aggressive negotiation." Naruto sounded sorrowed behind the helmet, almost..._ashamed._ "Watto drove a hard bargain, but I managed to persuade him to free Shimi." Anakin's exultant laugh and Shmi's gasp of sheer shock were carefully ignored as he turned to Vette and Sette. "Alright then laides, the ship needs prepped for departure. Pack your things. He turned to take in Shmi and Annie once again, and before either could blink, he'd wrapped his arms around both, drawing them close.

"We're going to Coruscant!"

"All of us?" Anakin asked in quavering tones; as though he couldn't possibly beleive what Naruto was saying.

His grin encompassed all of them.

"All of us."

Qui-Gon couldn't keep the smile from his face this time. Yes, Naruto's brief descent into the Dark Side worried him, but everything he saw before him told him that the blond was still very much at one with the Light; he would not be lost to the shadows so easily.

He was lost in his own thoughts when a flicker in the Force screamed a waring. Qui-Gon swung about with such swiftness it caught everyone completely by surprise. Down swep the jedi's lightsaber in a brilliant arc, cutting between the glaring suns and a black blur, clashing momentarily with something made of metal that shattered in the wake of the weapon's passing.

"Wha-?"

Naruto jerked forward a split second later, blocking Shmi and Annie protectively, but it was already over.

Qui-Gon clicked off his lightsaber and knelt to inspect a cluster of metal parts still sparking and fizzing in the sand. The acrid smell of ozone and burning insulation hung in the dry air.

"What is it?" Anakin asked, peering over his shoulder.

Qui-Gon rose. "Probe droid. Very unusual. Not like anything I've seen before." He glanced about worriedly, eyes sharp and bright as he cast up and down the street. Naruto mirrored his tension, helmeted head turning to encompass the entirety of the slave quarters. Abruptly, he seemed to reach the same decision as Qui-gON.

"Annie, get C-3PO onto my ship. Shmi, forget your things! Its time to go!"

* * *

Qui-Gon took them out of Mos Espa swiftly, hurrying through the crowded streets to the less populated outskirts. All the while, his eyes and mind were searching, the former the landscape of Tatooine, the latter the landscape of the Force. His instincts had alerted him to the prescence of the probe droid tracking them, and his Jedi training in the ways of the Force warned him now of something far more dangerous. He could feel a shifting in the balance of things that suggested an intrusio on the harmony that the Force required, a dark weight descending like a massive stone.

Naruto followed close behind, Shmi and Annie clustered close to him as he muttered blackly to himself. The Konoha was already en route to the Queen's royal craft, slowly coming into sight on the horizon, and Qui-Gon forced himself to relax. Everything would be alright. The transport was coming into shape now, a safe haven, if they could just get to it.

_"Ah!"_

Shmi gasped as an unseen hand wrenched her backwards, flinging her to the sands like a ragdoll. Naruto cried out in surprise; his words were eclipsed by a roar of fury. And then the assasin was amongst them, a blur of black and red, his lightsaber flashing, forcing Naruto to desperately parry before Qui-Gon could prevent it. And then just as quickly as the two combatants had engaged, they split apart.

Maul stopped.

* * *

Maul stopped.

He sensed something.

Something...more.

Naurto blanched.

_Oh shit._

He withdrew further into the blinding glare of the twin suns. He tried to hide his expression behind the helm, but there was no way to hide what was in his mind-Shmi was in pain. Her agony cried to him now, and his spirit cried with her. He tried to shut it out, to shut it up, but the cry was loud, and he couldn't stifle it, couldn't leave alone, had to cradle it openly, to give it solace.

Maul's consciousness invaded that private place, sullying their bond.

_No!_ screamed Naruto.

Maul was incredulous. "Mate? Mate!" He bellowed. "Your feelings have now betrayed her, too...ha!" He roared triumphantly. "I will take great pleasure in killing her." His sneer was clear to Naruto, through the glare of the suns, through his anger, through all the realms of darkness. "And I will make you and your son watch_...oh yes."_

"Mom!" Anakin cried,

Naruto grit his teeth, lightsaber flaring to life in his off hand. The golden blade cast an eerie pall between them, a line he would not allow the boy to cross. When the bounty hunter finally found his voice, it was rough with emotion; hoarse, evidence of the great effort he was makingto restrain himself.

"Get on the ship, Annie."

The boy stood stock still, unable to take his eyes from the still form of his mother on the desert floor, and the seething figure of the man who was his father. He could feel the man's tension, his desire to go to her and make sure she was well. And then there was the wicked looking zabrak standing firmly between them; yellow eyes agleam with fiendish delight the mosaic of his face curved into a wicked grin. Qui-Gon's face was set in stone, his features betraying nothing. Anakin sensed none of the turmoil from Naruto in the man, yet even so he feared the jedi might not be an even match for the grim specter barring his path.

"Anakin." Naruto spoke once more, his words barely a hiss. "Get on the ship and tell them to take off. Now."

"But-

**"Get on the karking ship!" **Naruto rounded on him, his pupils wide and red with fury, his irises inverted and crossed.

Anakin dithered a moment longer, blue orbs drifting back and forth between the two men and the frightening specter before them. He felt Naruto's eyes on his back, but he daren't turn, for fear that the demonic figure would pounce upon him, as it had his mother.

_'Please let her be alright.'_ he prayed to all the gods he'd ever heard of. _'Please, oh please, oh please..._

Naruto watched him go, and it was only when the ramp began to close that he deigned to return his attention the simmering sith standing before them. He had to end this quickly. Had to get to Shmi. Had to. He must, for if he did not, he couldn't bear to live.

As if sensing his tension, the sith raised a hand and force-pushed Shmi, dragging her body even further away from them. Her cry of pain tore at Naruto's heartstrings; ripped them to pieces. He wanted nothing more than to go to her side; and yet her very presence prevented him from using his more powerful techniques; from wipping this shitty little sith clear off the face of Tatooine for fear of hurting her, catching her in the blast radius. The lightsaber had never felt so heavy in his hand; he was reliant upon the weapon now, more than ever.

"You're going to regret that, horn-head." he hissed.

Maul sneered, visibly stung by the insult, retaliated with one of his own:

"You fear for her." he snarled. "It is your fear that makes me stronger."

"Fear?" The jinchuuriki mused as he raised his sabre. Of all the shitty timing. But that didn't matter. Shmi was right there; _right there_, lying, dying at his feet. He was pissed the hell off!

"Yes, I suppose it is fear...

"Fea that allows me to live, fear that forces me to thrive, and you...

**...to die!**

He burst forward with what little fuel remained in his jetpack, lightsaber thrust before him like a lance. Maul dodged aside and met his assault with an upturned palm and an invisible wall. Ungrounded as Naruto was, the force push launched him backwards head over heels, returning him to the Qui-Gon's side. Grunting, the jinchuuriki picked himself up, dusted his leathers off, and dragged himself to his feet with a visible effort.

"It seems we brought trouble with us." The jedi master sighed.

"I've had a good long run." Naruto grinned, snapping of a salute with his blade. "No regrets here." Without another word he lunged forward, stabbing his saber like a lance; feinting at the last instant to cut at his lower torso. But the sith must've been expecting it; because he batted it aside and riposted with a lunge of his own; striking the shinobi full in the face, stunning him. There came another snap-hiss, and suddenly there were not one but **two** blades, standing erect at either end; the latter careening towards the blonde's exposed neck.

Naruto swore at his mistake. In his fury he'd forgotten that Maul's blade was a dual one. Now, too late, he realized his mistake, as the crimson beam slammed down against his unprotected jugular-

_Vzzzzzzm!_

Qui-Gon's blade was there, interposing itself between the crimson death blow and the shinobi's neck. The tattooed Sith screamed in frustration, forced to abort his attack at the last instant, lest he lose his head. And he nearly did as the recovered blonde brought his own blade up and down, striking a searing line between them. They faced him together, Jedi and hunter, their blades glistening in the heat of the searing afternoon, forced together by the unlikeliest of circumstances. Harsh winds began to buffet them as the storm drew nearer still, peeling the sand itself from the ground.

Maul laughed harshly, exulting in the fury of nature as he stormed towards them.

_"You're mine, Jedi."_

"I think now would be a very good time to leave." Naruto hissed at Qui-Gon.

"I concur."

Maul frowned; frowned as the ground trembled beneath their feet. Qui-Gon had just enough time to see the _Konoha_ streaking towards them, ramp lowered; the backwash from her engines throwing Maul from his feet for a split second. That was all it took. Naruto blurred forward, his booted heel slamming into the Zabrak's face, stunnding him, knocking him to the sands. He spun-whirled, rolled and slashed furiously at the offending lumb, but by then the blone had already retrieved Shmi, an instant before his vessel's port-mounted turbolaser lit the ground crimson at his back, dousing them in grit and gravel.

Qui-Gon battled back against the Sith, driving him to ground, doing his best to keep an eye out for the vanished pair.

_There!_

The bounty hunter was in motion, diving onto the ramp and rolling inside the bowels of his ship. In a flash he drew a blaster and fired three times at Maul, forcing the assassin to focus on the bolts themselves and not the weary Jedi Master he'd nearly finished off. Naruto fired again, this time at the Zabrak's feet, forcing him back half a pace, then another. It was enough.

"Get on!" He roared at Qui-Gon.

The Jedi leapt, long and high, the Force flowing through him like an invisible tide. The Sith's lightsaber seared at his back close, dangerously close, but did little more than singe the fabric before he was free and clear; a split second later, his boots touched the transparisteel ramp. He grabbed onto a landing strut as the Konoha accelerated, carrying them to safety, its ramp whooshing shut just before they cleared the atmosphere. He was rewarded by a snarl of fury as the Queen's craft did the same, escaping into the atmosphere. And then exhaustion found him...

...and then there was sweet, blessed blackness.

**A/N: LO AND BEHOLD! At long last free and clear of Tatooine with everyone intact! Everyone except Watto. Honestly, I've been looking forward to killing off that brainless blue bufoon for a gooood long while now, and what better way to end him than at the hands of vengeful father. We see that Naruto still has that way with women still, although he remains fixated on Shmi. I still won't say whether or not this story will be a harem thus far, only that certain females _will_ show interest in Naruto over the course of this story. Whether or not he _reciprocates_ that interest, is entirely up to you, dear readers. Sadly, I cut out most of the Pod race; I'm simply no good with that sort of thing, and besides, all that mattered was that Annie won! **

**Now that we're finally off Tatooine, what will happen next?! ****Stay tuned...to find out, next time, on The Shinobi Menace!**

**So...in the immortal words of Darth Vader...**

**...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY!**

**Translations:**

**_Aliit ori'shya tal'din_ - "Family is more than blood."**

**_Ori'jate_ - "Very good"**

**_Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum_ - "I love you."**

**R&R! =D**


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